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2023 | Buch

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Family Firms and Local Roots

Implications on Economic Performance and Corporate Social Responsibility

verfasst von: Stefano Amato, Alessia Patuelli

Verlag: Springer Nature Switzerland

Buchreihe : CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

This book pursues an interdisciplinary approach to studying family firms as a particular type of business strongly embedded in the territories in which they are located. Featuring an in-depth analysis of original research, the book employs both theoretical and empirical approaches to explore family firms and their relationships with their home territories. The book shows that family firms have unique bonds with their local areas, and these bonds profoundly shape their decision-making and outcomes.

The book addresses two research questions, namely, how the connections between family firms and their home territories originate and develop, and how they influence firms’ economic performance and their corporate social responsibility initiatives. Uniquely, it seeks to develop an integrated framework that brings together family firms, local contexts, and places while also presenting new empirical evidence of relevance to scholars, managers, and policymakers alike. In addition, the book responds to the need for a greater understanding of what anchors entrepreneurial families to their home territories and the conditioning effect of local roots on such firms’ behavior.

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Abstract

In the last two decades, there has been a growing interest in family firms as a particular type of business where a family, a social unit sharing legal or genetic bonds, influences the organization’s goals, strategy, and processes. The provision of the means, both material and immaterial, to satisfy the primary needs of its members entails the conduct of the economic activity, that is, a set of actions consisting in the production, sale, and distribution of goods and services, and which is instrumental in this respect. Thus, the firm becomes a conventional organizational device through which the family carries out such an economic activity and, by combining production factors, becomes involved in business or, put differently, becomes an “entrepreneur.”

Stefano Amato, Alessia Patuelli

Chapter 2. Defining and Understanding the Family Firm

Abstract

This chapter introduces the family firm phenomenon, providing insights into the prevalence of family firms worldwide. After an excursus on the primary literature which defines a family firm, the chapter introduces the definitional dilemma and the concept of heterogeneity. The chapter proceeds with an overview of the primary theoretical constructs that help to understand family firms’ unique behaviors. It will range from classical approaches such as the agency theory, resource-based view, and stewardship to the original concepts and approaches coined by the family business literature, primarily discussing familiness, the three-circle model, and socioemotional wealth theory.

Stefano Amato, Alessia Patuelli

Chapter 3. The Spatial Dimension of Firm’s Economic Activity

Abstract

This chapter provides a general overview of the role of space in firms’ economic activity. It first addresses the different conceptualizations of space. After that, the chapter describes agglomeration economies as a source of firm and territorial competitiveness. Then, it disentangles the proximity dimensions affecting innovation. After describing the most explored agglomerated areas, that is, industrial districts and business clusters, the chapter concludes by exploring the role of SMEs in peripheral areas.

Stefano Amato, Alessia Patuelli

Chapter 4. Firms in Territories: The Local Roots of Family Firms

Abstract

This chapter explores the firm–territory “nexus,” by disentangling the concept of the firm’s local embeddedness. After retracing the evolution of the concept, its formulation in spatial terms, and the dark side of embeddedness, the chapter sheds light on the entrepreneur’s place attachment underlying the firm’s embeddedness in the local context. Then, it delves deeply into the family firms. By untangling the peculiar place attachment of the owning family, the chapter depicts the local roots embedding the firm in a given locality and the influence on firms’ outcomes. The manuscript ends by analyzing the factors either embedding or disembedding family firms from their home territory and the adverse effects of over-embeddedness.

Stefano Amato, Alessia Patuelli

Chapter 5. Family Firms, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Place-Based Enterprises

Abstract

The chapter aims to contextualize the current debate on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in family firms: most academic research maintains that family firms are more committed to socially and environmentally responsible activities and communicate more on CSR than non-family firms. The chapter introduces the concept of CSR and state-of-the-art CSR in family firms. It then explores the role of family firms as place-based enterprises fostering environmental and social responsibility in local communities.

Stefano Amato, Alessia Patuelli

Chapter 6. Unveiling the Origins of Local Roots: A Case Study in the Chianti Classico Wine Cluster

Abstract

This chapter displays the main results of a case study conducted in the Chianti Classico Italian wine cluster. Based on a field visit, in-depth interviews, and document analysis, the case shows how the family firm plays a central role in developing and maintaining the individuals’ and family’s relationships with the territory. It also shows how a territorially embedded family firm transforms its relationship with the place into a more significant concern for environmental issues, defending the territory under challenging times.

Stefano Amato, Alessia Patuelli

Chapter 7. The Role of Local Roots on the Economic Performance and Corporate Social Responsibility of Family Firms: A Quantitative Analysis

Abstract

This chapter provides quantitative empirical evidence of the impact of local roots on family firms’ productivity and corporate social responsibility. After depicting the family firm phenomenon in Italy, the chapter describes the data and variables employed in the analysis and the descriptive statistics. Specifically, two empirical studies are carried out. The first investigates the moderating effect of local roots and geographic isolation on family firms’ productivity. The second explores the voluntary adoption of the ISO 14 001 certificates and the influence of local roots in prompting the pro-environmental attitudes of family and non-family firms.

Stefano Amato, Alessia Patuelli

Chapter 8. Conclusions

Abstract

Family business research has mainly focused on explaining how the interaction between two domains, namely the family and the business, shapes a firm’s behavior and outcomes, thus making family firms unique. More recently, a new stream of research investigating the interplay between family firms and geographical space has unfolded, disclosing new facets of the family business phenomenon. Exploring the “family firm-territory nexus” means understanding the distinctive way these businesses are affected by and able to influence the geographical space where the firm’s economic activity and the family’s social life both take place. This nexus is such that the peculiarities of the family firm enmesh with the peculiarities of a given territory. This book took part in this debate by untangling the micro-territorial foundations of family firms. Specifically, the main research questions this book addressed revolved around what makes families deeply “anchored” or embedded in their home territory and the influence of local ties on family firms’ economic performance and corporate social responsibility.

Stefano Amato, Alessia Patuelli

Titel: Family Firms and Local Roots
verfasst von: Stefano Amato
Alessia Patuelli
Copyright-Jahr: 2023
Verlag: Springer Nature Switzerland
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-31793-4
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-31792-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31793-4

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