The role of family firm image perception in host-guest value co-creation of hospitality firms

Customers value the services and products of family firms. Especially the rural hospitality industry is dominated by family firms and shaped by high-contact services, where hosts and guests co-create value. Hypothesizing that behavioural and relational qualities of family firms are a central source for value co-creation and that a perceived family firm image (FFI) affects guests in co-creating value, this study investigates the effect of three relevant principles (trust, relationship commitment, social interaction ties) on value co-creation under the influence of FFI perception. The model is tested on a sample of 331 guests of Austrian rural hospitality firms. Findings show that relationship commitment and social interaction ties influence value co-creation, and a perceived FFI in particular strengthens the effect of social interaction ties on value co-creation. Implications suggest installing facilitators of value co-creation, enhancing the FFI via social capital and further investigating the customer perception of family firms in the rural hospitality industry and beyond

Family Businesses and Adaptation: A Dynamic Capabilities Approach

The main objective of this research was to propose a framework centred on the dynamic capabilities approach, and to be applied in the context of family businesses’ adaption to their changing business environment. Data were gathered through interviews with ten FBs operating in Western Australia. Based on the findings, the clusters of activities, sensing, seizing, and transforming emerged as key factors for firms’ adaptation, and were reinforced by firms’ open culture, signature processes, idiosyncratic knowledge, and valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable attributes. Thus, the usefulness of the proposed framework was confirmed. Implications and future research opportunities are presented. © 2018, The Author(s)

Defining family business: a closer look at definitional heterogeneity

Researchers have used a myriad of different definitions in seeking to explain the heterogeneity of family firms and their unique behavior; however, no widely-accepted definition exists today. Definitional clarity in any field is essential to provide (a) the basis for the analysis of performance both spatially and temporally and (b) the foundation upon which theories, frameworks and models are developed. We provide a comprehensive analysis of prior research and identify and classify 82 definitions of family business. We then review and evaluate five key theoretical perspectives in family business to identify how these have shaped and informed the definitions employed in the field and duly explain family firm heterogeneity. Finally, we provide a conceptual diagram to inform the choice of definition in different research settings