Competitiveness, Organizational Management, and Governance in Family Firms

Book excerpt: The "family effect" remains a challenge for researchers interested in both the family firm’s organizational form and in the effects of familial ownership on a firm's strategy, structure, and performance. Governance mechanisms, management quality, ownership concentration, and family involvement all have relevant effects in terms of influencing monitoring costs, investment decisions, the development of the portfolio of resources and capabilities, and family firm competitiveness. Nevertheless, few studies to date have opened the black box of the "family effect." Competitiveness, Organizational Management, and Governance in Family Firms is an essential reference source that makes a clear distinction between the separation of ownership and management, on the one hand, and the institutional development of family governance instruments, on the other, to help uncover the asymmetric effects of these two choices. It also allows the examination as to which of the two strategies employed in family firms reinforce managerial capital that has a greater positive impact on the "family effect," thus helping to achieve better managerial capabilities. Featuring research on topics such as corporate governance, private business, and successional leadership, this book is ideally designed for managers, executives, CEOs, company owners, consultants, business professionals, entrepreneurs, academicians, and researchers interested in an in-depth understanding of the keys to success and survival of family-operated organizations.