The dissertation deals with the issue of a family entrepreneurship. Family businesses play a key role in GDP production and employment in our country and worldwide, which makes them the backbone of the economy. However, they were overlooked as a topic for studying and research for a long time. Lately a number of authors started to look into them and even in the Czech Republic they were brought to attention. Two distinct systems mix in these businesses, each one oriented towards different goals. Family business's practices are therefore influenced by the meshing of a family system and a business system, which sets them apart from other types of entrepreneurships. This theses is focused on specifics of small family business in the Příbramsko region. A suitable concept for explaining a specific behavior of family businesses seems to be a so called socio-emotional wealth. One of the goals of this thesis is to evaluate the importance of individual components of the socio-emotional wealth with the help of semi- structured interviews. Small family businesses are mostly viewed in a positive way and relationships, trust, a personalized approach, a good reputation, happiness of all personnel involved and quality of products and services provided are vital for them. A big administrative load and acquiring...

Finansieringsstrategier är betydande delar i företagens uppbyggnad. Pecking order teorin (PO) beskriver den preferensordningen företag har över finansieringsmetoder vid investeringar. Däremot är familjeföretag speciella företag med en stor fientlighet mot externt kapital på grund av risken att tappa kontrollen över företaget. Dessutom finner man betydande incitament till att familjeföretagen har goda relationer med sina leverantörer och kunder vilket möjliggör användandet av bootstrappingstrategier. Vår studie indikerar att PO teorin inte är applicerbar på familjeföretag på grund av ovanstående faktorer. Således skapades en egen preferensordning istället för PO, familjeföretagens pecking order (FPO). Följaktligen är uppsatsens syfte att förklara rangordningen i familjeföretagens finansieringsval vid investeringar. För att undersöka familjeföretagen konstruerades först ett familjeföretagsindex som mätte familjekaraktären i familjeföretagen. Därefter undersöktes den empiriska bärigheten i FPO-modellen på SME företag i Sverige med en enkätundersökning. Utfallen av korrelationstesten genererade flertalet signifikanser mellan familjeföretagsindex och de finansieringsstrategier som FPO-modellen består av. De betydande resultaten efter korrelationstesten var ett negativt samband mellan familjeföretagsindex och hur benägna företagen var att ta in kapital utanför familjen. Det innebär alltså att ju mer familjeföretag man är desto mindre är företaget benäget att ta in externt kapital vilket är den mest betydande implikationen till forskningen. Studien kunde också observera en betydande positiv korrelation mellan familjeföretagsindex då företaget har en huvudägarandel över 50% och deras inställning till att ta in kapital från familjen. Slutligen konstateras pecking order teorin inte verkar passa in på familjeföretagens preferensordning då fler alternativ till finansiering används av familjeföretagen.

Cette thèse explore l’identité organisationnelle des entreprises familiales à travers le prisme des employés non familiaux. L’identité familiale de ces entreprises constitue pour elles à la fois un atout – « action intangible » difficilement imitable – et en même temps un enjeu, puisque l’imprégnation de la famille et de ses valeurs au sein de l’entreprise pose question à mesure que sa croissance l’amène à intégrer des membres extérieurs. Cet enjeu est d’autant plus sensible que la famille dirigeante cherche souvent à maintenir son influence identitaire sur l’entreprise, leurs histoires et réputations respectives étant intimement liées. Pour autant, peu de travaux ont jusqu’à présent étudié le rôle des employés non-familiaux dans l’identité de ces entreprises. Cette thèse interroge la façon dont les employés non-familiaux contribuent à la perpétuation de l’identité familiale de l’entreprise, à travers l’étude du cas d’une entreprise familiale française. Trois résultats principaux découlent de ce travail. D’abord, l’exploration des perceptions identitaires des employés non-familiaux révèle que la famille est, à leurs yeux, indissociable des éléments caractérisant leur entreprise. Les mécanismes conduisant à ces perceptions sont ensuite examinés : incarnation, rappel, diffusion et adaptation sont identifiés comme « amenant » dans l’entreprise une image spécifique de la famille, de ses valeurs et de son rôle. Ensemble, ils constituent le processus de « familisation » de l’entreprise. Enfin, une typologie est proposée pour classer les employés non familiaux selon leurs motivations et capacité à contribuer à ces mécanismes. Deux catégories d’employés (les adoptés et les convertis) jouent un rôle déterminant dans ces mécanismes. Occupant une place prédominante dans le top management, ils utilisent cette famille comme outil de management ayant une fonction d’exemple incarnant un système de valeurs qu’ils associent à la Famille comme entité générique. Les apports théoriques et pratiques, ainsi que les limites de ces résultats sont discutés en conclusion. / This dissertation explores family firms’ organizational identity from a non-family member’s perspective. The family identity of these firms constitutes both an intangible asset, that is difficult to imitate – and a crucial stake as during their growth process, family firms incorporate external members who tend to progressively represent the majority of the payroll. This stake is even more salient as owning families aim at durably influencing their firms’ identity since the family’s and the firm’s history and reputation are interrelated. However, the role of non-family members’ in the family firm’s identity has not been directly investigated by researchers so far. My dissertation aims at filling in this gap, by investigating the way non-family members contribute to enacting the family identity of the firm. The case study I conducted in a French family firm leads me to formulate three main sets of results. First, the exploration of non-family members’ perceptions of the firm reveals that they associate what they consider to be the core attributes of the firm with the owning family. Secondly, I investigate the mechanisms leading to such perceptions and identify that the family’s image and values are “brought” into the organization through four mechanisms – embodiment, reminding, spreading and adaptation – that together constitute the overall process of “familization” of the firm. Lastly, I suggest a typology of non-family members depending on their motives for contributing to “familization” mechanisms. Two categories (the adopted and the converted) play a crucial role in these mechanisms. Moreover, I show that the top management is composed of adopted and converted, who use this specific family of owners as a managerial tool having a role-modeling function. They do it because they perceive this family as embodying an axiology that is symbolized by the Family – as a generic entity –, an axiology that they consider to be valuable in an organizational context. The theoretical and practical contributions of these results are discussed.

Fougerolles est la capitale française du kirsch. Sa production s’est semi-industrialisée dès le début du XIXe siècle. D’abord activité complémentaire de l’agriculture fougerollaise, la distillation va se développer en faisant émerger, au milieu du XIXe siècle, de véritables entrepreneurs qui vont marquer le marché des alcools de bouche en France jusqu’au milieu du XXe siècle.L’industrie de la distillation à Fougerolles s’est développée dans un marché des alcools de bouche très concurrentiel subissant régulièrement des contraintes économiques législatives et sociales et surtout , marqué par la confrontation entre les spiritueux et les boissons fermentées représentées par la boisson nationale, le vin. Cette confrontation aboutit à l’interdiction de la liqueur d’absinthe en 1915 et des liqueurs anisées au début des années 1940.Dans ce contexte et à travers l’étude historique des trajectoires socio-économiques de deux firmes familiales rurales qui ont su tirer profit du savoir-faire local et de l’évolution des techniques de distillation, nous apportons un éclairage sur leur émergence, leur stratégies de développement, leur résistance, leur résilience et la pérennisation de leurs activités industrielles et commerciales entre 1839, année de l’installation dans la commune du précurseur de l’industrie de la distillation en Haute-Saône, Abel BRESSON, et 1940 avec l’instauration du régime de Vichy qui va durcir la lutte antialcoolique en interdisant, entre autres, les liqueurs anisées et la publicité sur les alcools de bouche.Outre la dimension proprement théorique, notre thèse pourrait aussi s’inscrire dans une stratégie de redynamisation d’un territoire à travers la valorisation de son patrimoine industriel et de ses produits qui ont fait sa renommée au niveau national et international. / Fougerolles is the French capital of kirsch. Its production became semi-industrialized at the beginning of the 19th century. Distillation was first a complementary activity of agriculture in Fougerolles, then, in the middle of the 19th century, this activity grew to become a business which was to influence the market of alcoholic beverages in France until the middle of the 20th century.This distillation industry in Fougerolles grew in a highly competitive market of alcoholic beverages, which regularly suffered from economic, legislative and social constraints and, mostly, was influenced by the confrontation between spirits and fermented beverages represented by wine, the national drink. This confrontation led to the prohibition of the absinthe liqueur in 1915 and aniseed liquors in the early 1940s.In this context, and through the study of the socio-economic trajectories of two rural family firms that could take advantage of the local know-how and the evolution of distillation techniques, we highlight their emergence, their development, their resistance and their resilience and the sustainability of their industrial and commercial activities between 1839, when Abel BRESSON the pioneer of the distillation industry from Haute-Saône settled in Fougerolles, and 1940 with the establishment of the Vichy regime which toughened the anti-alcohol fight by prohibiting, among others, the sale of aniseed liquors and the advertising of alcoholic beverages.In addition to the theoretical dimension, our thesis could also be part of a strategy to revitalize a territory through the promotion of its industrial heritage and products, which have made it nationally and internationally renowned.

Background: Make or buy decisions is the most fundamental part in a company’s manufacturing strategy. The decision is complex and involves sacrifices whichever strategy is chosen, and before making the decision the firm should understand and evaluate the trade-offs and comparative costs of manufacturing or outsourcing. The uniqueness of family firms is that they often operate their business with non-financial goals at the centre. This study will investigate the make or buy decisions at Väderstad AB, a family owned firm that deals with decisions of make or buy on a large scale, with many thousands of parts included in their final machines, and decisions made daily whether to make or buy. There is no existing research looking at the qualitative non-financial goals and factors in family firms and how it affects the make or buy decision. Purpose: This master thesis studies the make or buy decision at a family firm. The aim is twofold, namely, to explore the potential uniqueness of family firms within the context of the make or buy decision and then to create a make or buy decision model for a family firm. This aim is explorative, i.e. to generate theory, in the realm of family firm research. Method: This is a qualitative study performed by conducting a single case study methodology. 12 Semi-structured interviews with 14 employees from all parts of the case company and the use of documents from archival records were collected as data.  The data was analyzed with the technique of 1st order concepts, etc. as developed by Gioia. Conclusion: Our analysis showed that in the context of family firms, the primary factors influencing make or buy decisions at the case company were not financial goals. Instead drivers were goodwill for customers, innovation, quality, flexibility and control which are non-financial goals. However, financial goals were not neglected, but rather costs were measured after a decision had been made, proving that it was not in the centre of their operations before and during the decision and thus, it was secondary. As a result, non-financial goals played a larger role than financial goals in the make or buy decision.

儘管很多文獻探討了高層管理團隊多元化與企業績效之間的關係，但所得結果卻不一致。我們將高層管理團隊多元化分為分離型、多樣型以及不平等型三類，以中國194家家族企業為研究樣本，分別討論不同類型多元化對家族企業績效的影響。具體來說，年齡分離型多元化對企業績效沒有顯著影響，但基於社會網絡理論分析后卻發現績效與教育背景分類型呈現先低後高的U型關係；性別以及職能背景多樣型多元化對企業績效均沒有顯著影響；由於社會比較的存在以及錦標賽理論的負面效應，薪酬不平等型多元化對企業績效有負向影響，但股權不平等型多元化卻有利於績效的提升，因為股權集中於家族手中益於家族企業目標的實現，加強家族成員對企業的認同感，並減少代理成本，避免權力衝突。我們基於不同的理論，檢驗了在中國文化背景下不同種類的多元化與企業績效之間的關係。我們在考察了中國情境下的管理理論運用的同時，也發現多元化本身帶有「雙面刃」的性質，需要區別對待不同多元化指標對企業績效的作用。 / Despite a lot of literature examining the relationship between the top management team diversity and firm performance, the evidence is mixed. To reconcile the conflicting results, we divide the TMT diversity into separation, variety and disparity to discuss the relationship between them and the family firm performance in China. Results from a sample of 194 Chinese family firms indicate that there is no relationship between age separation, gender variety, functional variety and firm performance. Based on the social network theory, the relationship between educational separation and firm performance is U-shaped. In addition, considering social comparison theory and the negative impacts of tournament theory, we find that salary disparity is negatively related to company performance. However, family firm performance benefits from share disparity because the concentration on the equity allows the family to achieve the family’s goal and reduce agency cost, finally contributes to enhancing the family members’ identity and avoiding the power conflicts within the organization. Base on different theories, we examine the relationship between different aspects of diversity and family firm performance under Chinese culture background, and also find the “double-edged sword” of diversity.

Familjeföretag är den mest förekommande företagsformen i världen och forskningen kring familjeföretag har ökat markant under de senaste årtiondena. I takt med globalisering och företagsmässig tillväxt ställs det allt mer krav på företags ekonomistyrning, vilken oftast har en informell karaktär bland familjeföretag. För att ekonomistyrningen ska behålla sin funktion i detta lyfter forskare fram att den behöver inkludera ett mer strategiskt fokus med strategiska styrmedel som understödjer företagsvisionen, något som kan kräva att familjeföretagen genomgår en professionalisering genom inhämtning av extern kompetens. Huruvida strategiska styrmedel används bland familjeföretag eller inte, saknas det dock kvalitativ forskning om, varpå vi har vänt oss mot en familjeföretagsintensiv region som kännetecknas av hög ekonomisk tillväxt, den så kallade Gnosjöregionen. Studiens syfte är att öka förståelsen för vilken roll strategiska styrmedel har bland familjeföretagen i Gnosjöregionen. Detta har vi ämnat försöka göra genom att fokusera kring tre utvalda strategiska styrmedel, nämligen benchmarking, ABC-kalkylering och balanserat styrkort. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod, där data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Detta för att öka möjligheten att skapa en djupare förståelse för det undersökta ämnet. Studiens resultat har påvisat att det enda av de undersökta styrmedlen som används formellt är benchmarking, detta genom kontinuerlig prestationsbenchmarking. Vidare har studiens resultat visat på tendenser att de två övriga strategiska styrmedlen ABC-kalkylering och balanserat styrkort används, men att det sker mer informellt. Emellertid ser vi ett ökat intresse och behov för dessa två strategiska styrmedel till följd av företagsmässig tillväxt. Vår slutsats är dock att för att familjeföretag lyckosamt ska kunna implementera dessa tre strategiska styrmedel, så räcker inte professionalisering genom att anställa en extern ekonomichef, utan det krävs en ytterligare professionalisering genom extern kompetens. / Family firms are the most common type of business in the world and the study of family firms has increased significantly over the recent decades. In line with globalization and business growth, the need for management accounting and control have increased which often has an informal characteristic in family firms. Scholars have warned that if management accounting and control is to maintain its relevance it needs to adapt a more strategic focus, through strategic management accounting and control instruments, to underline the vision of the business, which can create the need of professionalization of the family firm, through hiring external expertise. Whether strategic management accounting and control instruments is something that family firms are using or not, has not been investigated with qualitative research, which is why we have focused on a family firm intensive region characterized by high economic growth, the so-called region of Gnosjö. The purpose with this research is to increase the understanding of what role the strategic management accounting and control instruments have within family firms in the region of Gnosjö. We did so by focusing on three specifically chosen strategic management accounting and control instruments, explicitly benchmarking, activity based costing and the balanced scorecard. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach, in which data was collected through semi-structured interviews. This is to increase the ability to create a deeper understanding of the examined subject. The results show that only one of the three surveyed instruments that is being used formally is benchmarking, which is primarily done through continuous performance benchmarking. Furthermore, the study results show tendencies that the two other strategic instruments, activity based costing and the balanced scorecard, is used but in a more informal way. However, we see an increased interest and a need for these two strategic instruments as a result of business growth. Our conclusion is however that if these three strategic management accounting and control instruments are to be successfully implemented in a family firm, professionalization by hiring an external CFO is not enough; instead it requires a further professionalization through external expertise.

過去許多國內外的研究顯示，由創業者所經營之家族企業公司績效表現與投資決策優於由接班者所經營之家族企業和非家族企業。然而，台灣過去卻鮮少有文獻探討創業者與接班者在投資決策上的主要差異，以及是否在特定的公司治理特性下可以協助創業者和接班者做決策，進一步增加公司價值。 本研究主要以2010年至2014年間台灣上市櫃家族企業作為樣本，並將樣本分為由創業者所經營之家族企業與接班者所經營之家族企業，探討由創業者經營之家族企業與接班者所控制之經營企業在併購決策上是否有所不同，在何種公司治理特性或是公司特色可使併購宣告效果增加。本研究以兩階段迴歸和事件研究法作為研究方法，第一部分分析創業者與接班者在公司經營績效上之差異，第二部分分析創業者與接班者在併購宣告效果上的差異，最後進一步分析，何種公司治理特性或是公司特色可使併購宣告之累積異常報酬增加。實證結果顯示，創業者所經營之公司經營績效較佳，且由創業者所作之併購決策，能夠顯著提升併購宣告之累積異常報酬。此外，本研究發現外部董事比例越高，對於投資人預期之累積異常報酬顯著負向效果;然而外部股東持股對於併購宣告之累積異常報酬則有正向之加強效果。 / Past studies indicate that founder-family firms exhibit better firm performance and investment decisions than successor-family firms and non-family firms. However, little research has examined the difference in investment decisions across generations (founders and successors) in Taiwan. Moreover, it is unclear whether there exist some specific firm characteristics or corporate governance structure arrangements that can improve the decision-making of corporate investment to enhance firm value. This study employs the family firms and M&A data during the period of 2010 to 2014 in Taiwan to examine whether M&A decisions differ across family generations in Taiwan. Through the two-stage least squares regression analysis and the event study analysis, we find that the founder-family firms have better firm performance than successor-family firms. The founder-family firms also earn higher acquisition announcement returns than successor-family firms. Besides, we show that the percentage of outside directors has a negative effect on the acquisition announcement returns while the largest outside ownership is positively correlated with the acquisition announcement returns.

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to provide evidence on the extent and the consequences of the provision of non-audit services (NAS) by statutory auditors to German family firms. Design/methodology/approach – The study analyzes hand collected fee data of 368 listed and private family firms in Germany. It employs univariate tests, ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares regressions to investigate potential threats to perceived auditor independence and knowledge spillovers between jointly provided NAS and audit services. Findings – Incumbent auditors are shown to be a significant source of various types of NAS to family firms. There is weak evidence on threats to perceived auditor independence and support for reciprocal knowledge spillovers between the services. While listed and private family firms do not differ in regard to the proportion of NAS fees, comparative findings suggest that key threats and benefits of jointly provided services are more prevalent among private than among listed family firms. Research limitations/implications – The study suffers from limited data availability and is restricted to the initial year of mandatory audit fee disclosure of private firms in Germany. Particularities of family firms and the German setting, as well as differential results for listed and private family firms, suggest fruitful avenues for future research. Practical implications – The study addresses the current issues in audit regulation. Regulatory bodies should consider that key threats and benefits of auditor-provided NAS decrease with stronger exogenous restrictions. Attempts to restrict jointly provided services in the EU suggest family firms to reconsider their reliance on auditors as a trusted source of NAS. Originality/value – This study is the first to provide evidence on the extent and consequences of auditor-provided NAS in family firms based on fee disclosure. It is also among the few studies that investigate private firms in a code law country and complements prior evidence from Germany that is restricted to listed firms. More generally, it contributes to limited evidence at the intersection of audit and family business research.

This cumulative dissertation covers the concepts of scenario-based strategic planning and strategic management in family firms over five articles. The first article gives an overview of the cumulative dissertation explaining the research gap, approach and contribution of the dissertation. The paper highlights the two research areas covered by the dissertation with two articles focusing on scenario-based strategic planning and two on strategic management in family firms. The second article is the first of two focusing on scenario-based strategic planning. It introduces and describes a set of six tools facilitating the implementation of scenario-based strategic planning in corporate practice. The third paper adapts these tools to the financial management and controlling context in private companies highlighting the tools’ flexibility in managing uncertain and volatile environments. The fourth article is the first of two focusing on strategic management in family firms. It analyzes organizational ambidexterity as a factor explaining family firm performance. The article shows that a high level of organizational ambidexterity in family firms leads to a higher family firm performance. The final paper concludes the dissertation examining the tendency of family firms to focus on capability exploration or resource exploitation over different generations managing the family firm.