Theses and Dissertations

Hanqing Fang

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Chrisman, James J.

Committee Member

Holt, Daniel T.

Committee Member

Daspit, Joshua J.

Committee Member

Marett, Kent

Committee Member

Barnett, Timothy R.

Date of Degree

8-12-2016

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Management

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

College of Business

Department

Department of Management and Information Systems

Abstract

One neglected yet very important feature of family business is its internal homogeneity. Different from heterogeneity which focuses on differences across family firms, homogeneity here refers to the continuity and similarity of decision-making patterns either over time or across business units in a single family firm. This dissertation attempts to explore homogeneity in family businesses as well as its antecedents and performance consequences. To distinguish different types of homogeneity, strategic persistence is defined as homogeneity of strategic patterns over time and the pursuit of a dominant strategy as the homogeneity across related business units. Based upon S&P 1500 manufacturing firms from 1996 to 2013, it is found that family firms have a higher level of strategic persistence and a more consistent dominant strategy than nonamily firms. In addition, it appears that being older, with less organizational slack and having higher family involvement in ownership and management tends to strengthen the two kinds of homogeneity in family businesses. Finally, it is found that high homogeneity in decision-making can result in better performance in family business compared to nonamily firms, especially for those with high family involvement in management. Theoretical implications and limitations are discussed.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19858

Comments

Firm Performance||Dominant Strategy||Strategic Persistence||Family Business||Behavioral Theory of the Firm

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