Thesis advisor: Hans de Wit / The family ownership context has been investigated across many business settings, within the manufacturing, trade, and services industries. The consensus among scholars has been that families that own and operate firms act in self-serving ways and frame organizational problems and make decisions with the primary goal of satisfying the family’s affective needs, i.e., preserve or augment what is referred to as socioemotional wealth. However, the theoretical reasoning of socioemotional wealth theory may fall apart in traditional university settings, where self-serving behaviors may lead to (pronounced) agency conflict. Universities have been long understood for their politicized governance environs in which multiple stakeholder groups have representation in decision-making. Within this reality, families involved in higher education management may be challenged to act self-servingly and protect or enhance certain socioemotional wealth. They may need to act in altruistic ways to avoid agency conflict. I investigate whether this is the case through a single, critical case study approach conducted at one family-owned or -managed university in India. I rely on what Yin (2003) refers to as “rival explanation as patterns” to test socioemotional theory relative to a rival theoretical framework. I ask the important question of whether this rival theory can address the limitations of socioemotional wealth theory when applied to the higher education context. As expected, findings generally suggest that where socioemotional wealth theory fails to capture family decision-making behaviors, the rival theory is relevant. This finding is important to consider and has several implications to theory, practice, and future research. Importantly, the findings support that current family-owned business theorizing is not enough to capture family decision-making behaviors in the context of traditional university settings. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

By the year 2030, 20% of the U.S. population will be 65 years of age or older. An increase in the demand for supportive health and social services is expected with the aging of the population. Demand for senior housing is expected to grow, too. This study explores what the social environment offers to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) seniors who relocated to LGBT retirement communities. Previous research asked LGBT seniors who did not live in LGBT senior housing about their housing preferences. The present study, for the first time, asked residents of existing LGBT senior living communities to explain why they chose to live in an LGBT retirement community. Focus groups were conducted at three retirement communities. Thirty-eight residents at the three study sites participated. Seven focus groups were conducted; each was audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The analysis found common categories across the focus group data that explain the phenomenon of LGBT senior housing. The average age of the participants was 71. Demographic differences were found between generations, with the older participants being more likely to have revealed their sexual orientation late in life, and more likely to have been married and have children. The findings showed that acceptance by other residents of one's sexual orientation and gender identity allows LGBT seniors to feel comfortable in what several residents called their "domestic environment." The questions asked about housing choice and were open ended; respondents chose to focus on the social aspect of their living environments. Acceptance, as opposed to tolerance, was a strong theme. Acceptance by others reduced stress and fostered a feeling of safety and a sense of community. Social networks were strong and expansive, contrary to the theory of socioemotional selectivity theory, which would argue that the total number social relationships diminishes with age. Participants emphasized the social context of their living environment as the reason they chose to live in LGBT senior housing. Participants noted past discrimination, but it was the positive aspects resulting from acceptance that were emphasized as the reason for their choice of LGBT specific retirement housing.

Background: Family firms represent the majority of firms worldwide, and are regarded as a crucial part of the global economy. Despite that, there is little known about their objectives of financial reporting i.e how they use, produce and value their financial reports. In accounting literature two objectives of financial reporting are presented, a stewardship objective and a decision usefulness objective. Previous research within family business have found that family firms differ from non-family firms and that family firms utilize socioemotional wealth protection as a main reference point when making decisions.  Purpose: This study aims to provide an understanding of how family firms perceive the objective of their financial reporting and how this is shaped by SEW. Method: The study was conducted using a qualitative method and implemented through semi-structured interviews. Nine family firms participated in the study, where eight family members were interviewed and two non-family members.  Conclusion: The result suggest that four out of the five FIBER dimensions (of SEW), family influence and control, identification of family members with the firm, binding social ties and emotional attachment influence the family firm's objective of their financial reports. Meanwhile, for the fifth dimension, renewal of family bonds to the firm through dynastic succession, our study suggests that future successions do not have an influence on the family firm's perceived objective of financial reporting.

Problematization: Family firms in Sweden play a vital role in the labor force, reflecting their extensive presence and essential role in the economy. Central to every family firm are its guiding values, shared among family members engaged in its activities. Driven by a commitment to their local communities and a sense of social responsibility, family firms actively pursue social initiatives. However, there is a recognized imperative for additional research to investigate micro-level aspects and enhance the comprehension of the Socioemotional Wealth (SEW) model. Purpose: The research aims to establish a conceptual framework for investigation of the interconnection between family firms and social initiatives. The primary objective is to explore how family values are embedded in the decision-making process concerning social initiatives within the local community. Method: An exploratory multiple case study design was employed, utilizing a qualitative approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with family members actively involved in the decision-making process regarding social initiatives and their subsequent implementation. Main results: Family values guide decisions related to social initiatives within family firms, driven by centralized ownership, while the business values of firms are influenced by the values upheld by family owners. Consequently, the decision-making process is influenced by the personal interests of family members, hence the essence of fostering community togetherness. The findings underscored an informal decision-making process across various industries,wherein decisions are guided by the personal interests of family members in pursuing social initiatives within the local community.

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os condicionantes das decisões de investimento das empresas familiares. Para tanto, utilizou-se de um referencial teórico baseado em conceitos como estrutura de propriedade e controle familiar, heterogeneidade das empresas familiares, choques exógenos causados por crises econômicas e situação de restrição financeira. Esses conceitos foram empregues com o propósito de dimensionar seus impactos nas decisões de investimento das empresas familiares listadas em bolsa nos períodos entre 2006-2016. Em termos teóricos, os investimentos foram separados em dois tipos: investimentos em CAPEX e capital circulante líquido. Embora nem todos tenham sido utilizados em todas as fases da pesquisa, esses dois tipos de investimento foram o cerne e a variável dependente da pesquisa. Outras variáveis importantes foram Empresa Familiar, bem como suas outras sete configurações, e as variáveis de interação como idade, grau de maturidade, tamanho, tangibilidade e situação financeira. Outro ponto considerado pela pesquisa foi o impacto do cenário macroeconômico sobre as decisões de investimento. Os resultados encontrados mostraram que as empresas familiares investem menos do que as empresas não familiares em CAPEX, ocorrendo o inverso para o capital circulante líquido. Isso corrobora com as análises teóricas promovidas por Anderson, Duru e Reeb (2012) e Chrisman e Patel (2012) sobre os ideais de autopreservação e aversão ao risco aos quais as empresas familiares estão sujeitas. Quanto aos períodos de choques de liquidez, as empresas familiares apresentaram quedas severas para investimentos em CAPEX e quedas menos acentuadas para o capital circulante líquido. Por fim, em relação à situação de restrição financeira e os resultados financeiros passados evidenciou-se que empresas familiares com maior tangibilidade e com resultados passados positivos investem mais do que as empresas não familiares, o que também está de acordo com a teoria sobre autoconfiança e busca pela perenidade em empresas de controle familiar. / The objective of this study was to answer the following research problem: what are the determinants of the investment decisions of family companies? To do so, the research used a theoretical framework based on concepts such as family ownership and control, the heterogeneity found in the various types of family businesses, exogenous shocks caused by economic crises and the situation of financial constraint of the companies. These concepts were used to understand how each of them impacted the investment decisions of listed companies in the period between 2006-2016. In conceptual terms, the investments were divided into two types: investments in CAPEX and working capital ratios. Although not all were used at all stages of the research, these three types of investment were at the heart and the research-dependent variable. In addition to this variable, other important variables were both the Family Enterprise variable (as well as its other seven configurations) and the variables of interaction with age, maturity level, size, tangibility and financial situation. Another point considered by the research consisted in analyzing how the macroeconomic scenario impacted investment decisions. The results found that family firms invest less than non-family firms (in all configurations) in CAPEX. However, the opposite occurs for the working capital ratios. This corroborates theoretical analyzes promoted by Anderson, Duru and Reeb (2012) and Chrisman and Patel (2012) on the ideals of self-preservation and risk aversion to which family firms are subject to making decisions involving risks and uncertainties. Comparing the results in periods of liquidity shocks, the results of the family companies showed severe declines for investments in CAPEX and less declines in working capital index. Finally, the results found when considering the situation of financial constraint and the past results provided that family companies with greater tangibility and with positive past results invest more than non-family companies, which is also in accordance with the theory on self-preservation and search for perpetuity in family businesses.

In this study, we contrasted socioemotional selectivity theory (SST; Carstensen, 2006) with dynamic integration theory (DIT; Labouvie-Vief, 2003) using trajectories of quantitative and qualitative social support in later life. SST is a lifespan theory of motivational development (Carstensen, Isaacowitz, & Charles, 1999). There is a normative decline in social support networks in later life. In other words, individuals who perceive the limitation on time left for their future are likely to decrease the quantitative social support and compensate for this decrease by improving qualitative social support with emotionally meaningful social partners. The theory also postulates that age is the primary proxy for perceived limitation of individuals' lives (Carstensen, Fung, & Charles, 2003). Further, self-reported health and functional status are factors that affect older adults' perception of limitation of time left in their lives (Carstensen, 2006). In contrast, DIT is a neo-Piagetian theory that emphasizes the presence of individual differences in quantitative and qualitative social support in later life depending on individuals' levels of cognitive resources that are associated with educational levels (Labouvie-Vief & Diehl, 2000). Despite these different arguments on the trajectories of quantitative and qualitative social support in later life, SST and DIT have not been tested within a same study. The current study examined the trajectories of frequency of social contact (quantitative social support) and reliance on family members and close friends (qualitative social support) in later life. Participants were drawn from the Normative Aging Study (NAS; N = 1,067, M[subscript age] = 60.83, SD = 8.08) who completed social support surveys three times from 1985 to 1991. Using unconditional and unconditional analyses (Raudenbush & Bryk, 1986), growth models of frequency of social contact with and reliance on family members and close friends were tested. Within subject analyses found that the trajectory of frequency of social contact was a U-shaped curve with the age of 54 years at a peak, while the trajectory of reliance on family and friends were stable and linear. Random effects of age for the intercept and slope were significant in both models of frequency of contact and reliance on family and friends, although the random effect for the latter were small in both models. Between subjects analyses were conducted to examine whether cognitive resources, marital status, health status, and functional status predicted variance in the intercept and slope of both types of support. As SST hypothesized, having better self-reported physical health predicted higher levels of frequency of contact over age. Being married was associated with higher quantity of social support. However, contrary to our hypothesis based on SST, having poorer functional status predicted more frequent social contact over age. The random effect of intercept was still significant after controlling for these psychosocial predictors. The evidence to test the DIT hypotheses was examined in the model of the qualitative social support. Having memory problems predicted decreasing reliance on social partners. However, marital status and education did not significantly predict change in qualitative social relationships. Contrary to the hypothesis based on SST that posited poor self-reported health was associated with higher qualitative social support, it was better self-reported health that predicted higher qualitative social support. The random effects for the intercept and slope were still significant after controlling for these psychosocial factors. Taken together, the findings of the current study suggest that SST and DIT can be used as theoretical frameworks that are complementary rather than contradictory in their predictions of socioemotional development in later life. SST is useful to illustrate the overall trajectory of quantitative social support in a normative development in late life. DIT's stance better explains the individual differences in qualitative social support in non-normative contexts. The findings also suggest that having memory problems and poor self-reported health as non-normative developmental outcomes may be risk factors of older adults' ability to seek for social support. / Graduation date: 2012

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is widely discussed in the business community in terms of its effectiveness. However, studies of factors that can affect CSR are not so many. The purpose of this study is to evaluate of the impact of ownership structure on Environmental and Social performance. This study was conducted on the example of 174 cases among Swedish companies, listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, Environmental and Social performance, which was represented by the largest information provider Thomson Reuters. Using the experience of previous studies, a model of relationship between ownership structure and Environmental and Social performance was founded and a multiple regression analysis was performed. The most significant result of the study, confirmed by previous empirical studies and theoretical literature, is the existence of a relationship between capital structure and CSR performance. Foreign investors, who came to the Swedish market, have a stable positive connection with performance. This form of ownership, like majority control, did not find sufficient evidence to the impact on Environmental and Social performance in this study. The Minority control and Joint Minority and Management control showed no influence on performance in Swedish companies.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 alinegomesmedeirosdearaujo.pdf: 1032967 bytes, checksum: 8f745c574d9002068430a4722ce1722e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-01-21 / A presente dissertação tem como objetivo investigar a percepção dos atores envolvidos em um projeto-piloto, implementado em uma escola de Ensino Médio do estado do Rio de Janeiro, que privilegia o desenvolvimento de competências socioemocionais, por meio de um currículo integrado, de modo a verificar os desafios para a extensão do Projeto em outras unidades da rede estadual, a fim de propor ações de melhoria. Esse Projeto, denominado Solução Educacional para o Ensino Médio, foi criado por meio de uma parceria celebrada entre a Secretaria de Estado de Educação do Rio de Janeiro e o Instituto Ayrton Senna e objetiva proporcionar melhoria na qualidade da educação ofertada no Ensino Médio da rede estadual de educação do estado do Rio de Janeiro. O Ensino Médio tem sido uma preocupação constante na política educacional do Brasil e a busca da melhoria na qualidade dessa modalidade tem se revelado de suma importância. Isso é fundamental na medida em que a escola atualmente se depara com novos desafios, entre eles o de estabelecer condições mais adequadas para a formação do jovem perante os desafios do século XXI. A metodologia utilizada foi o estudo de caso de caráter qualitativo e quantitativo, com diferentes técnicas de coleta de dados: análise documental do Projeto Solução Educacional para o Ensino Médio, pesquisa bibliográfica, entrevista com os gestores, professores e alunos da escola, na busca de compreender a dinâmica dos processos constitutivos, envolvendo um diálogo do pesquisador com a realidade estudada. Este estudo foi desenvolvido à luz das reflexões de teóricos como Zabala (1998), Britto et al (2013) e Delors (2012) que abordam temas como a formação do cidadão para o século XXI e Saviani (2010) e Neves (2005) que tratam de políticas educacionais para o Ensino Médio, entre outros. Os resultados da pesquisa apontam que, para a expansão do Projeto para outras escolas da rede, há a necessidade de formação de novos Gestores e o aprimoramento da formação dos professores, haja vista a dificuldade apontada pelos mesmos na fase inicial de implementação do Projeto. Os resultados também revelaram, entre outras questões, a necessidade de uma aproximação efetiva da escola com as famílias, tendo em vista a importância dessa integração para o Projeto e considerando a inexistência de ações que promovam essa aproximação. A formação de gestores e professores e a integração da escola com as famílias culminaram na proposta do Plano de Ação sugerido nesta pesquisa. / The present dissertation, has the outer to investigate the perception of the involved actors in a pilot project, implementing in a high school of the state of Rio de Janeiro, wich privileges the development of socioemotional competence per a curriculum integrated by means of verify their challenges for a extension of project in other schools managed by state, for the purpose of development actions. This project denominated educational solutions for the high school was invented by means of partnership created between an education secretary of the state of Rio de Janeiro and "Instituto Ayrton Senna" has the objective afford progress in the quality of education at high school manage by the education state of Rio de Janeiro. The high school have been a constant concern in the educational politic of Brazil, and the search to progress in quality of this modality been revealed very apportante. There is a fundamental for a school actualy who have a new prespective with new challenges, between them implant conditions more appropriative for the young formation in front of the distresse in century XXI. The metodology been used was the study case of character of quantity and quality with differents tecniques of colect by date: documental analysis of the educational solution project for high school, bibliographic search interview wich managers, teachers and students of school in pursuit to realize the dynamics constitutive process involving a dialogur by research with the reality studed. This study was developed with reflexions by theorics like, Zabala (1998), Britto et al (2013) and Delors (2012) wich appoach themes like the formation of the citizen for the century XXI and Saviani (2010) and Neves (2005) wich attend the educations and politics for high school. The results of this search point for the expansion of project for others school managers by the state, there is a necessity of formation about new manager and approach of formation teachers. By the difficulty of the search project implementation. The results also reveals other questions like they necessity of a afetive aprocimation at the school with parents. The importance of this project integration is the action that will promote this aprocimation. The formation of the managers teachers and the school integration with the parents consolidate on the propose plan of actions, sugested in this search

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os condicionantes das decisões de investimento das empresas familiares. Para tanto, utilizou-se de um referencial teórico baseado em conceitos como estrutura de propriedade e controle familiar, heterogeneidade das empresas familiares, choques exógenos causados por crises econômicas e situação de restrição financeira. Esses conceitos foram empregues com o propósito de dimensionar seus impactos nas decisões de investimento das empresas familiares listadas em bolsa nos períodos entre 2006-2016. Em termos teóricos, os investimentos foram separados em dois tipos: investimentos em CAPEX e capital circulante líquido. Embora nem todos tenham sido utilizados em todas as fases da pesquisa, esses dois tipos de investimento foram o cerne e a variável dependente da pesquisa. Outras variáveis importantes foram Empresa Familiar, bem como suas outras sete configurações, e as variáveis de interação como idade, grau de maturidade, tamanho, tangibilidade e situação financeira. Outro ponto considerado pela pesquisa foi o impacto do cenário macroeconômico sobre as decisões de investimento. Os resultados encontrados mostraram que as empresas familiares investem menos do que as empresas não familiares em CAPEX, ocorrendo o inverso para o capital circulante líquido. Isso corrobora com as análises teóricas promovidas por Anderson, Duru e Reeb (2012) e Chrisman e Patel (2012) sobre os ideais de autopreservação e aversão ao risco aos quais as empresas familiares estão sujeitas. Quanto aos períodos de choques de liquidez, as empresas familiares apresentaram quedas severas para investimentos em CAPEX e quedas menos acentuadas para o capital circulante líquido. Por fim, em relação à situação de restrição financeira e os resultados financeiros passados evidenciou-se que empresas familiares com maior tangibilidade e com resultados passados positivos investem mais do que as empresas não familiares, o que também está de acordo com a teoria sobre autoconfiança e busca pela perenidade em empresas de controle familiar. / The objective of this study was to answer the following research problem: what are the determinants of the investment decisions of family companies? To do so, the research used a theoretical framework based on concepts such as family ownership and control, the heterogeneity found in the various types of family businesses, exogenous shocks caused by economic crises and the situation of financial constraint of the companies. These concepts were used to understand how each of them impacted the investment decisions of listed companies in the period between 2006-2016. In conceptual terms, the investments were divided into two types: investments in CAPEX and working capital ratios. Although not all were used at all stages of the research, these three types of investment were at the heart and the research-dependent variable. In addition to this variable, other important variables were both the Family Enterprise variable (as well as its other seven configurations) and the variables of interaction with age, maturity level, size, tangibility and financial situation. Another point considered by the research consisted in analyzing how the macroeconomic scenario impacted investment decisions. The results found that family firms invest less than non-family firms (in all configurations) in CAPEX. However, the opposite occurs for the working capital ratios. This corroborates theoretical analyzes promoted by Anderson, Duru and Reeb (2012) and Chrisman and Patel (2012) on the ideals of self-preservation and risk aversion to which family firms are subject to making decisions involving risks and uncertainties. Comparing the results in periods of liquidity shocks, the results of the family companies showed severe declines for investments in CAPEX and less declines in working capital index. Finally, the results found when considering the situation of financial constraint and the past results provided that family companies with greater tangibility and with positive past results invest more than non-family companies, which is also in accordance with the theory on self-preservation and search for perpetuity in family businesses.

Det är vanligt att lärare kommer i kontakt med och undervisar elever som befinner sig i socioemotionella svårigheter. Många lärare känner sig otillräckliga eftersom de finner arbetet med elever i socioemotionella svårigheter som utmanande. Det här har bidragit till att vissa lärare förhåller sig negativt till inkludering. När lärare känner sig otillräckliga finns möjlighet att söka hjälp från specialpedagoger. Därmed blir det betydelsefullt att veta vilka förväntningar lärare har på specialpedagogen. Syftet har varit att utforska hur lärare uppfattar socioemotionella svårigheter och hur de förhåller sig till inkludering. Vidare var syftet att undersöka vilka utmaningar lärarna möter i arbetet med elever i socioemotionella svårigheter samt vilka förväntningar som finns på specialpedagogen. Denna uppsats har en kvalitativ ansats och semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med lärare. Intervjuer genomfördes via röst- samt telefonsamtal. En tematisk analys har tillämpats och de specialpedagogiska perspektiven har använts som analysverktyg. Lärarna framhöll både positiva och negativa aspekter med inkludering gällande elever i socioemotionella svårigheter. Däremot framkom ett mer positivt förhållningssätt om lärarna gavs bättre förutsättningar att genomföra inkludering. Lärarna framhöll det som utmanande att undvara tid åt att hjälpa elever i socioemotionella svårigheter och anpassa undervisningen till deras behov, parallellt med övriga klassen. Den hjälp som förväntades av specialpedagogen önskades ske huvudsakligen genom olika former av samtal. / It is not unusual that teachers come in contact with students who are in socioemotional difficulties. Many teachers feel inadequate while working with students in socioemotional difficulties as they find it challenging. This has contributed to the fact that some teachers have a negative attitude towards inclusion. When teachers feel inadequate, there is the opportunity to seek help from special educators. Thus, it is important for the special educator to know which expectations teachers have on the special educators. The aim of this study was to explore how teachers perceive socioemotional difficulties and how teachers relate to inclusion. Furthermore the aim of this study was to explore what challenges teachers face when working with students in socioemotional difficulties and what expectations there are on the special educator. A qualitative approach has been adopted in study and semi-structured interviews have been conducted with teachers. Interviews were conducted by voice and telephone calls. A thematic analysis has been applied and the special educational perspectives have been used as an analysis tool. The teachers emphasized both positive and negative aspects with inclusion, regarding students in socioemotional difficulties. However, a more positive attitude emerged if they were given better prerequisites to implement inclusion. Teachers emphasized that it was challenging to spend time helping students in socio-emotional difficulties and adapt the teaching to their needs, in parallel with the rest of the class. The help that was expected of the special educator was wanted mainly through various forms of conversation.