Discussion: View Thread

Family Business Reseach SIG 04

Track title:

Designing and implementing Human Resources Management Systems and Organizational Variables in Family Businesses

Track chairs:

Luca Gnan (luca.gnan@uniroma2.it)

Frank Lambrechts (frank.lambrechts@uhasselt.be)

 

HRM Systems and Organizational Variables are an under-research area in family business studies, even though they arguably play a relevant role. To exploit their entrepreneurial orientation and achieve their goals, family firms adopt a specific configuration of the organizational variables. Organizational variables are the organizational structure, the coordination mechanisms, and the power dynamics. Accordingly, HRM as a system of practices adopted to manage people affect employees' competencies, behaviors, and performances in family firms. The design and the implementation of HRM systems and organizational variable reflect the relationships among cognition, action, and organizational performance, inspiring a decisional model as a sequence <g class="gr_ gr_254 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="254" data-gr-id="254">of:</g> consideration of contingent dimensions, their interpretation (sense-making), selection of actions, and performance evaluations. Contingent dimensions represent the antecedents and contextual factors in decision-making processes for allocating tasks, sharing information, and managing people in family firms. Contingent dimensions may relate to the following areas of interest (but not limited to): External Environment (competitive positioning perspective, country perspective, industry perspective), Firm Characteristics (Family ownership, Size, Actual Organizational variables, Professionalization, Firm life cycle, Past performances, Presence of knowledge and skills), and Family Characteristics (Family involvement, Culture and family values, Family <g class="gr_ gr_224 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="224" data-gr-id="224">ties</g>, Family embeddedness and resources, Family leadership styles, Family emotional attachment, Family entrepreneurial orientation, Family goals). Sense-making refers to the link between how family firms make sense of information and knowledge about contingent dimensions and how they act to influence their organizational outcomes. Specific family psychological and social dynamics are likely to affect both the process and the outcome of a family's decision to adopt specific HRM Systems and shape Organizational Variables. Sense-making refers to the cognitive and psychological processes that family firms adopt in framing their needs for making some HRM choices, on one hand, and, on the other, the behavioral processes that should be developed to foster these shared cognitive meanings, such <g class="gr_ gr_255 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="255" data-gr-id="255">as:</g> family norms, cognitive conflicts, and the family firm's use of its available knowledge and skills. Sense-making may <g class="gr_ gr_252 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="252" data-gr-id="252">connected</g> to different theories such as (but not limited to): Agency theory, Strategic intent, Socio-emotional Wealth, Stewardship theory, Social Exchange theory, and Justice theory. The third domain characterizes organizational choices. Organizational choices <g class="gr_ gr_253 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="253" data-gr-id="253">relates</g> to organizational structure and coordination mechanisms, HR practices, managerial succession, and governance systems and mechanisms, etc. Finally, the fourth domain represents the outcomes in terms of organizational performance. This track intends to focus on HRM and Organizational Variables in family businesses aiming to clarify what HRM and Organizational topics are relevant in family firms given their distinctive features, what the role of organizational and HR choices in family firms is, and how they differ in these enterprises. The goal of the track is to bring together papers that consider all three main areas of HRM and Organization: theories, practices, and competencies.

We welcome imaginative interpretations of the theme of the track.  Possible topics/questions include, but are not limited to the following: 

 

• Which contingent dimensions affect the sense-making processes of HRM and organizational choices in family firms?
• How do family firms, families, and family dynamics affect HRM systems and organizational variables?
• Which are the technological instances, the national and international environmental dimensions, and internal organizational factors that influence the intensity and speed of the adoption decision, on the one hand, and the implementation process, on the other hand of HRM systems and organizational variables in family firms?
• Which are the cognitive and psychological processes that family firms adopt in framing their needs for making HRM and organizational choices? Which are the behavioral processes that should be developed to foster these shared cognitive meanings?
• How and why do owner/managers' approaches to HRM and organizational choices differ?
• How do generational transitions, involving top-management teams and other corporate governance structures, play out within HRM systems and organizational variables in family firms?
• What kind of HRM and organizational variables are likely to be (uniquely) found in family firms, and why? How does family heterogeneity shape family business HRM and organizational variables and outcomes?
• How <g class="gr_ gr_211 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="211" data-gr-id="211">non family</g> and family managers and employees are attracted, motivated, and retained in family firms?
• How family firms' HRM systems influence the justice perceptions of nonfamily employees versus family employees?
• What reward and compensation systems are chosen, developed, and used in family SMEs? How do these systems affect motivation and performance?
• How do family firms invest in people's psychological resource capacities of self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience, for sustained competitive advantage?
• In what ways, and by whom, is the HR function enacted in family firms? Is there a difference with non-family firms?
• How do family firms manage industrial relations (constructively)? Can we find family firms unique features shaping these relationships?

References

Barnett, T., & Kellermanns, F. W. (2006). Are we family and are we treated as family? Nonfamily employees' perceptions of justice in the family firm. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 30(6), 837-854.

Berrone, P., Makri, M. & Gomez-Mejia, L.R. (2008). Executive Compensation in North American High-Technology Firms: A Contextual Approach. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(8), 1534–1552.

Botero, I. C., & Litchfield, S. R. (2013). Exploring human resource management in family firms: a summary of what we know and ideas for future development, In K. X. Smymios, P. Z. Poutziouris, & S. Goel (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Family Business (pp. 371–405). 2nd ed. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

Carlson, D. S., Upton, N. & Seaman, S. (2006). The Impact of Human Resource Practices and Compensation Design on Performance: An Analysis of Family-Owned SMEs. Journal of Small Business Management, 44, 531-543.

Castellaneta, F. (2013). Comment on "Resource Acquisition in Family Firms: The Role of Family-Influenced Human and Social Capital". Entrepreneurship Research Journal. 3(1), 127–129.

Cruz, C., Firfiray, S. & Gomez-Mejia, L.R. (2011). Socioemotional wealth and human resource management (HRM) in <g class="gr_ gr_210 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="210" data-gr-id="210">family controlled</g> firms. Research in Personnel and Human Resource Management, 30, 159-217.

Daspit, J. J., Holt, D. T., Chrisman, J. J., & Long, R. G. (2016). Examining family firm succession from a social exchange perspective: A multiphase, multistakeholder review. Family Business Review, 29(1), 44-64.

Dawson, A. (2012). Human capital in family businesses: Focusing on the individual level. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 3(1), 3–11.

De Kok, J. M. P., Uhlaner, L. M., & Thurik, A. R. (2006). Professional HRM practices in family owned-managed enterprises. Journal of Small Business Management, 44(3), 441–460.

Ferraro, H., & Marrone, J. (2016). Examining employment <g class="gr_ gr_240 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="240" data-gr-id="240">relationship</g> activities in family business research. Journal of Family Business Management, 6 (3), 210-224.

Kidwell, R. E., Hoy, F., & Ibarreche, S. (2012). ''Ethnic'' family business or just family business? Human resource practices in the ethnic family firm. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 3, 12-17.

Jiang, D. S., Kellermanns, F. W., Munyon, T. P., & Morris, M. L. (2018). More than meets the eye: A review and future directions for the social psychology of socioemotional wealth. Family Business Review, 31(1), 125-157.

Reid, R.S., Morrow, T., Kelly, B., & McCartan, P. (2002). People Management in SMEs: An Analysis of Human Resource Strategies in Family and Non-Family Businesses. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 9(3), 245-259.

Reid, R. S., & Adams, J. S. (2001). Human resource management – a survey of practices within family and non‐family firms. Journal of European Industrial Training, 25 (6), 310-320.

Rothausen, T. J. (2009). Management work-family research and work-family fit: Implications for building family capital in <g class="gr_ gr_228 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="228" data-gr-id="228">family</g> business. Family Business Review, 22(3), 220–234.

Tabor, W., Chrisman, J. J., Madison, K., & Vardaman, J. M. (2018). Nonfamily members in family firms: A review and future research agenda. Family Business Review, 31(1), 54-79.

Thach, L., & Kidwell, R. E. (2009). HR practices in US and Australian family wineries: Cultural contrasts and performance impact. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 5, 219-240.

Tsao, C. W., Chen, S. J., Lin, C. S., & Hyde, W. (2009). Founding-family ownership and firm performance: The role of high-performance work systems. Family Business Review, 22(4), 319–332.

Van der Merwe, S. P. (2009). Determinants of family employee work performance and compensation in family businesses. South African Journal of Business Management, 40(1), 51–63.

Weiser, J., Brody, F. & Quarrey, M. (1988). Family businesses and employee ownership. Family Business Review, 1(1), 23-35.

Werner, S., Tosi, H., & Gomez-Mejia, L. R. (2005). Organizational governance and employee pay: How ownership structure affects the firm's compensation strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 26, 377-384.

 

 

Deadlines and key dates

Conference: 26-28 June 2019

Deadline for Paper Submission: 15 January 2019 (2 pm Belgian time)

Notification of Acceptance: 20 March 2019

Early Bird Registration Deadline: 18 April 2019

Authors Registration Deadline: 25 April 2019

 

Authors' Guidelines

As an author, it is crucial to follow the guidelines and formatting instructions to prepare and submit your paper in order to have it published in proceedings.

Each paper will be screened to ensure compliance <g class="gr_ gr_226 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="226" data-gr-id="226">to</g> EURAM's guidelines. Papers which do not match the EURAM requirements will be desk-rejected and authors will not have the opportunity to submit an updated version.

Please read the instructions carefully prior to submitting:

1. Each paper can only be submitted to ONE track.
2. Submitted papers must NOT have been previously published and if under review, must NOT appear in print before the EURAM 2019 Conference.
3. To facilitate the blind review process, remove ALL authors identifying information, including <g class="gr_ gr_232 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="232" data-gr-id="232">acknowledgements</g> from the text, and document/file properties. (Any submissions with author information will be automatically DELETED; author information and <g class="gr_ gr_233 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="233" data-gr-id="233">acknowledgements</g> are to be included in a SEPARATE document).
4. The abstract should not exceed 400 words and should be included both in the PDF and the submission form.
5. Include 3 keywords in the submission form. A maximum of 6 keywords is allowed.
6. The entire paper (title page, abstract, main text, figures, tables, references, etc.) must be in ONE <g class="gr_ gr_214 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="214" data-gr-id="214">anonymised</g> document created in PDF format.
7. The maximum length of the paper is 40 pages (including ALL tables, appendices <g class="gr_ gr_247 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="247" data-gr-id="247">and</g> references). The minimum length of the paper is 10 pages. The paper format should follow the European Management Review Style Guide.
8. Use Times New Roman 12-pitch font, <g class="gr_ gr_208 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="208" data-gr-id="208">double spaced</g>, and 1-inch (2.5 cm) margin all around.
9. Number all the pages of the paper.
10. No changes in the paper title, abstract, authorship, track <g class="gr_ gr_213 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="213" data-gr-id="213">and</g> actual paper can occur AFTER the submission deadline.
11. Check that the PDF File of your paper prints correctly and ensure that the file is virus-free. Submissions will be done <g class="gr_ gr_209 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="209" data-gr-id="209">on-line</g> on the EURAM 2019 submission system (URL to be announced on 3 December 2018).
12. Only submissions in English shall be accepted for review.
13. In case of acceptance, the author or one of the co-authors should be available to present the paper at the conference. A presenting author^* can only present one paper at the conference.
14. If you submit a paper, you agree to review at least two papers for EURAM 2019 in the track you have submitted your paper to.

 

* ONE PRESENTING AUTHOR PER PAPER SUBMISSION

Each individual is limited to one personal appearance on the programme as a presenting author. This policy precludes <g class="gr_ gr_249 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="249" data-gr-id="249">acceptance</g> of papers for more than one presentation. In other words, an author can submit and present only one paper. However, a presenter can always be a non-presenting co-author on additional papers.

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Luca Gnan
Tor Vergata University
Rome
+390672595806
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