Background: It has become increasingly important for all corporations to make environmentally friendly decisions and consider environmental CSR. Previous studies have shown that effective corporate governance and diversity of BoDs and TMTs can affect sustainability reporting positively. However, prior literature has been underrepresented regarding SMEs. It is currently voluntary for these types of firms to report on sustainability, but new requirements are underway. Additionally, family-owned firms differ in the context of environmental CSR reporting due to the interests of the family, and that these types of firms tend to not consider the diversity as much as non-family-owned firms.    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the diversity of BoDs and TMTs in Swedish stock-listed SMEs impacts environmental CSR reporting. Additionally, how family firms moderate this relationship.     Methodology: This study adopts a positivistic view, follows the deductive approach, and uses a quantitative methodology. The collected data was gathered through databases, annual reports, and other sources to get information about the diversity aspects and sustainability reporting. This was analyzed by using the Spearman correlation matrix and multiple linear regressions.    Findings: The findings of this study only partially support the relationship between the diversity of BoDs and environmental CSR reporting. There was no support regarding the relationship between the diversity of TMTs and environmental CSR reporting. Family firms as a moderating factor to this, could also not be supported.

O objetivo deste estudo foi responder ao seguinte problema de pesquisa: o que faz os conselhos de empresas familiares serem efetivos em decisões estratégicas? Para tanto, foi adotada a abordagem configuracional, uma vez que existem múltiplas formas de se chegar à efetividade nas decisões estratégicas. Em termos conceituais, as decisões estratégicas foram consideradas efetivas quando alcançaram ou superaram os resultados previamente estabelecidos pelos tomadores de decisão. Em relação às empresas familiares, estas foram definidas a partir da riqueza sócioemocional (SEW) que consiste na importância atribuída pelos tomadores de decisão aos benefícios não econômicos gerados à família a partir da empresa. As dimensões da SEW combinadas com os papéis e processos psicossociais dos conselhos de administração geram diferentes configurações que levam à efetividade nas decisões estratégicas. Para demonstrar esse argumento, foram coletados dados de 59 empresas familiares no Brasil por meio de uma pesquisa do tipo survey. Os respondentes foram conselheiros que participaram de uma decisão estratégica nessas empresas. Os resultados mostram que existem múltiplas formas de se chegar à efetividade nas decisões estratégicas. Dentre os fatores preponderantes, o papel de controle e mediação são condições necessárias, assim como o uso de conhecimento e habilidade dos conselheiros e o conflito congnitivo. Também é possível identificar três diferentes perfis de empresa a partir da SEW. A primeira atribui pouca importância à continuidade da família no negócio em suas decisões; a segunda não atribui importância à proeminência familiar; e a terceira considera todos os atribuitos da SEW em suas decisões. Mesmo com pontos de referência diferentes, essas empresas conseguem ser efetivas em suas decisões estratégicas. Esta pesquisa tem implicações teóricas e práticas, especialmente, por reforçar a tese de que não existe uma única forma de se chegar a um resultado e que a efetividade dos conselhos de administração vai além do desepenho das funções de controle e serviço, estando ligada à capacidade de tomar decisões efetivas. / The objective of this study was to answer the following research question: What do make the board of directors of family firms be effective in strategic decisions? Therefore, the configurational approach was adopted, since there are multiple ways of achieving effectiveness in strategic decisions. Conceptually, strategic decisions were considered effective when reached or exceeded the results previously established by the decision makers. In relation to family firms, they were defined based on sociometional wealth (SEW), which consists of the importance attached by decision-makers to the non-economic benefits generated to the family from the company\'s operations. The dimensions of SEW combined with the roles and psychosocial processes of boards of directors generate different configurations that lead to effectiveness in strategic decisions. To demonstrate this, a survey with 59 family firms was carried out in Brazil. The respondents were board members who participated in a strategic decision-making in these firms. The results show that there are multiple ways to achieve effectiveness in strategic decisions. Among the core factors, the roles of control and mediation are necessary conditions, as well as the use of knowledge and skills and cognitive conflict. It is also possible to identify three different family business profiles from SEW. The first attaches little importance to family continuity in the business in their decisions, the second does not give importance to family prominence, and the third considers all SEW atributes in their decisions. Even with different reference points, these firms can be effective in their strategic decisions. This research has theoretical and practical implications, especially for reinforcing the argument that there is no single way to achieve a result, and the effectiveness of boards of directors goes beyond the control and service functions, being linked to the strategic decision effectiveness

This thesis contains three self-contained chapters, covering different subjects but using similar methods: The Effect of Foreclosure Laws on Securitization: Evidence from U.S. States shows that mortgage loans are less likely to be securitized in states with costlier foreclosure procedures. I interpret this in light of prior literature showing a higher foreclosure risk for securitized loans, due to unwillingness to renegotiate by the agents working on behalf of investors. Moreover, the magnitude of the effect increases for loans with higher risk of default, and disappears for loans where state foreclosure laws usually do not apply. Do daughters make family firms more sustainable? studies listed companies with a family owning a large block of shares, and asks how the family composition affects the company’s policies. Creating a novel Swedish data set, I find that environmental performance improves when the family has more daughters. The effect does not seem to operate through more adult daughters leading to more female CEOs or board members, or through the appointment of family members as CEOs. Bank taxes, leverage and risk uses staggered changes in US state-level bank taxation, and documents an increase in leverage when taxes are raised. Banks partly dampen the effect by adjusting their Tier 2 capital (a lower-quality form of regulatory capital that is less able to absorb losses), and by reducing the risk on the asset side of the balance sheet as measured by regulators. / <p>Diss. Stockholm :  Stockholm School of Economics, 2015. Introduction together with 3 papers</p>

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2009.

O objetivo deste estudo foi responder ao seguinte problema de pesquisa: o que faz os conselhos de empresas familiares serem efetivos em decisões estratégicas? Para tanto, foi adotada a abordagem configuracional, uma vez que existem múltiplas formas de se chegar à efetividade nas decisões estratégicas. Em termos conceituais, as decisões estratégicas foram consideradas efetivas quando alcançaram ou superaram os resultados previamente estabelecidos pelos tomadores de decisão. Em relação às empresas familiares, estas foram definidas a partir da riqueza sócioemocional (SEW) que consiste na importância atribuída pelos tomadores de decisão aos benefícios não econômicos gerados à família a partir da empresa. As dimensões da SEW combinadas com os papéis e processos psicossociais dos conselhos de administração geram diferentes configurações que levam à efetividade nas decisões estratégicas. Para demonstrar esse argumento, foram coletados dados de 59 empresas familiares no Brasil por meio de uma pesquisa do tipo survey. Os respondentes foram conselheiros que participaram de uma decisão estratégica nessas empresas. Os resultados mostram que existem múltiplas formas de se chegar à efetividade nas decisões estratégicas. Dentre os fatores preponderantes, o papel de controle e mediação são condições necessárias, assim como o uso de conhecimento e habilidade dos conselheiros e o conflito congnitivo. Também é possível identificar três diferentes perfis de empresa a partir da SEW. A primeira atribui pouca importância à continuidade da família no negócio em suas decisões; a segunda não atribui importância à proeminência familiar; e a terceira considera todos os atribuitos da SEW em suas decisões. Mesmo com pontos de referência diferentes, essas empresas conseguem ser efetivas em suas decisões estratégicas. Esta pesquisa tem implicações teóricas e práticas, especialmente, por reforçar a tese de que não existe uma única forma de se chegar a um resultado e que a efetividade dos conselhos de administração vai além do desepenho das funções de controle e serviço, estando ligada à capacidade de tomar decisões efetivas. / The objective of this study was to answer the following research question: What do make the board of directors of family firms be effective in strategic decisions? Therefore, the configurational approach was adopted, since there are multiple ways of achieving effectiveness in strategic decisions. Conceptually, strategic decisions were considered effective when reached or exceeded the results previously established by the decision makers. In relation to family firms, they were defined based on sociometional wealth (SEW), which consists of the importance attached by decision-makers to the non-economic benefits generated to the family from the company\'s operations. The dimensions of SEW combined with the roles and psychosocial processes of boards of directors generate different configurations that lead to effectiveness in strategic decisions. To demonstrate this, a survey with 59 family firms was carried out in Brazil. The respondents were board members who participated in a strategic decision-making in these firms. The results show that there are multiple ways to achieve effectiveness in strategic decisions. Among the core factors, the roles of control and mediation are necessary conditions, as well as the use of knowledge and skills and cognitive conflict. It is also possible to identify three different family business profiles from SEW. The first attaches little importance to family continuity in the business in their decisions, the second does not give importance to family prominence, and the third considers all SEW atributes in their decisions. Even with different reference points, these firms can be effective in their strategic decisions. This research has theoretical and practical implications, especially for reinforcing the argument that there is no single way to achieve a result, and the effectiveness of boards of directors goes beyond the control and service functions, being linked to the strategic decision effectiveness

This cumulative dissertation includes three papers and one teaching case study. Together, they focus on topics highlighting the distinctiveness of family firms and new ventures. While the first paper analyzes the academic debate over the familiness concept in family firm research, the second paper focuses on explaining the unique relational dynamics between family and non-family managers in top management teams. The third paper aims to derive design designs for family firm specific corporate accelerators. The teaching case study shows how a growing new venture may strike a balance between coping with increasing organizational complexity and maintaining its distinct entrepreneurial spirit.

Der Anteil der externen Nachfolge bei eigentümergeführten bzw. Familienunternehmen nimmt stetig zu. Eine Möglichkeit ist dabei ein Management-Buy-In, bei dem ein externer Manager die Position des Altinhabers übernimmt. In einer solchen Situation kann die Nachfolge in Form einer Relay Succession erfolgen, eine zeitlich gestaffelte Übergabe vom alten an den neuen Inhaber. In dieser Arbeit werden die Relay Succession, ihre Vor- und Nachteile, relevante Einflussfaktoren und Prozessempfehlungen in qualitativen Fallstudien untersucht.:Vorwort … II Inhaltsverzeichnis … III Abbildungsverzeichnis … VIII Tabellenverzeichnis … IX Abkürzungsverzeichnis … X 1 Einleitung … 1 2 Management-Buy-In bei eigentümergeführten Unternehmen … 6 2.1 Definition eigentümergeführter Unternehmen und Familienunternehmen in dieser Untersuchung … 7 2.2 Wirtschaftliche Bedeutung … 9 2.3 Bedeutung des Geschäftsführers und seiner Nachfolge … 13 2.4 Externe Nachfolge in eigentümergeführten Familienunternehmen … 16 3 Aktuelle Forschung … 27 3.1 Rahmengebende Forschungsfelder … 28 3.2 Zusammenfassende Beurteilung der theoretischen Grundlagen … 66 4 Untersuchungsmethode und empirische Betrachtung … 80 4.1 Qualitativer Fallstudienansatz … 80 4.2 Selektion und Akquirierung von Fallstudienkandidaten … 85 4.3 Interviewführung und fortlaufende Auswertung … 89 4.4 Datenanalyse und Hypothesengenerierung … 97 4.5 Sicherstellung der Reliabilität und Validität der Fallstudienuntersuchung … 102 5 Beschreibung und individuelle Beurteilung („within analysis“) der Fallstudien … 107 5.1 Fallstudie Fenster … 107 5.2 Fallstudie Karton … 114 5.3 Fallstudie Kunststoff … 121 5.4 Fallstudie Logistik … 131 5.5 Fallstudie Medizin … 140 5.6 Fallstudie Metall … 147 5.7 Fallstudie Möbel … 157 5.8 Fallstudie Netzwerk … 166 5.9 Fallstudie Präsentation … 174 5.10 Fallstudie Zahn … 181 6 Übergreifende Diskussion („cross-case analysis“) … 188 6.1 Ergebnisse … 189 7 Fazit … 241 7.1 Zusammenfassung … 241 7.2 Implikationen für die Praxis … 243 7.3 Einschränkungen und Grenzen … 247 7.4 Zukünftiger Forschungsbedarf … 249 A Appendix … A-I Literaturverzeichnis … A-XLIX

Le aziende a controllo familiare sono considerate in molti Paesi la struttura proprietaria dominante, e la ricerca accademica si è progressivamente concentrata negli ultimi decenni sugli aspetti peculiari che differenziano le aziende familiari dalle altre strutture proprietarie. Nonostante questa convergenza, molti studi hanno sviluppato teorie contrastanti, in modo particolare sulla capacità delle aziende familiari di generare performance finanziarie superiori. Di converso, pochi studi hanno concentrato l’attenzione sulle scelte strategiche che posso spiegare il (maggiore o minore) differenziale di performance delle aziende familiari. Partendo dall’assunto che punti di forza e di debolezza possano coesistere nelle aziende familiari, identificare se siano gli uni o gli altri a prevalere è una sfida complessa se non si prendono in considerazione le scelte strategiche effettuate dalle aziende familiari. Partendo da questo gap nella letteratura, il presente lavoro cerca di misurare l’impatto che la proprietà familiare può avere sulle performance aziendali concentrandosi su tre aspetti principali della strategia d’impresa: il livello di conformità strategico alla media di settore (mediante la creazione di un indice che approssima le principali determinanti della business strategy), l’avvio di un processo di internazionalizzazione attraverso investimenti diretti esteri (IDE), e le implicazioni delle strategie di acquisizione. / The family business is widely considered the dominant property structure around the world and the research on this field has increased rapidly in the last decades to understand whether and in which aspects family firms differ from other organizations. Despite this convergence, the actual body of research on family firms is populated by conflicting theories and findings, especially on the relationship with financial performance. On the other hand, few studies focus their attention on which strategic choices may explain the financial differences between family firms and non-family peers. Starting from this research gap, we think that both positive and negative aspects may coexist in family firms, and it would be difficult to identify which predominate without considering how family principals frame strategic decisions. In our thesis, we try to disentangle the effect of family ownership on firm performance focusing on three main aspects of firm strategy: the level of strategic conformity through the creation of a composite index (in which we incorporated six items that can be considered as key determinants of the business strategy), the departure of the internationalization process through foreign direct investments (FDI), and the implications of acquisition strategies.

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.

Il presente lavoro, riconoscendo la rilevanza che le aziende familiari detengono all’interno del contesto internazionale, con particolare riferimento a quello italiano, si propone di analizzare la loro propensione verso l’implementazione della strategia di acquisizione. In particolare lo studio, composto da tre paper tra loro connessi, è volto a delineare una “fotografia” del tessuto imprenditoriale italiano rilevando le caratteristiche delle aziende familiari e della tipologia delle operazioni di crescita per via esterna da queste conseguite. Inoltre, la ricerca fornisce delle comparazioni con le operazioni svolte dalle imprese non familiari così da comprenderne similitudini e differenze evidenziando come la partecipazione della famiglia proprietaria, sia in termini di proprietà che di gestione, incida sulla predisposizione ad acquisire. Il primo paper indaga l’attitudine delle imprese familiari e non familiari ad acquisire, mostrando tipologie e caratteristiche delle operazioni di crescita per via esterna da queste conseguite nel periodo 2000 – 2014. Il secondo lavoro, approfondito il ruolo della distanza culturale ed economica tra acquirente ed acquisita, verifica se le aziende familiari hanno economicamente beneficiato dell’implementazione della strategia di crescita per via esterna. Il terzo contributo analizza come le differenti modalità e livelli di coinvolgimento diretto della famiglia alla vita d’impresa incida sulla predisposizione ad acquisire. / The aim of this work, which recognizes the importance of family-owned firms in the international environment – focusing in particular on the Italian context – is to analyze their propensity to implement the acquisition strategy. The study, composed of three interrelated papers, is intended to “take a picture” of the Italian entrepreneurial fabric, by detecting the features of family firms and the type of growth operations through acquisitions. Furthermore, this research outlines comparisons with the operations led by non family firms, in order to understand similarities and differences by highlighting how the role of family owner, both in terms of property and management, influences the propensity to acquire.  The first paper examines the propensity of family and non family firms to acquire, showing the types and features of the growth operations through acquisitions in the timeframe 2000 - 2014. The second paper, after studying in depth the role of the cultural and economic distance between the acquirer and target, checks whether family firms benefitted from the implementation of acquisition. The third paper analyses the influence of the several implementation procedures and the level of direct involvement of the family in the life of the firms on the propensity to acquire.