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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the development of the five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) over time by taking a founder’s perspective. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on an in-depth single-case study. It combines semi-structured interviews in the company with archival data, such as annual reports, press clips and interviews in business magazines. Findings The results indicate that the EO dimensions change from being personalized and directly solution-oriented to being intangible value-creation-oriented. Originality/value By suggesting ownership-based EO configurations, this study contributes insights into how different ownership forms propel EO. These configurations – that is, personal, administrative based and intangible focused – show the impact of the EO dimensions and provide a systematic and theoretical understanding of EO change over time.

Purpose This paper addresses the phenomenon of venture capital firms which are also family businesses (VCFBs). The purpose of this paper is to explore and understand the phenomenon of VCFB by answering the following questions: What are the features of professionalization in VCFBs? And, how do professionalization and types of family businesses explain the strategies and governance of VCFBs? Design/methodology/approach As an explorative case study, it maps the Swedish venture capital (VC) industry and compares two VCFBs and their business investments with regard to strategy and governance. Findings By suggesting two major configurations, the study explains how family business development and levels of professionalization relate to differences in VCFBs’ strategies, which in turn, affect their governance. The personal VCFB features active owners who personally take responsibility roles and strongly focus on customers and relationships. The administrative VCFB strongly focuses on predetermined financial metrics, high ethical awareness among board members, and ongoing interplay between the active family board members and minority shareholders. Research limitations/implications The study was conducted in Sweden and concerns Swedish VCFBs. The paper contributes to the literature by combining the two currently separate research streams, i.e. family business and VC, highlighting the importance and consequences of family ownership in VC businesses. Practical implications The present study provides stock market investors and stock analysts with a deeper understanding of VCFBs’ strategy incentives. By identifying the kind of VCFB and its relation to strategy, more reasonable assessments and analyses of the VCFBs’ actions will be possible. Family firms willing to accept VC-finance should consider the type of VC and the potential consequences of family ownership. Originality/value This study is the first to classify VC firms as family businesses. Moreover, it shows the features of professionalization in VCFBs by suggesting a set of configurations.

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The purpose of this paper is to understand how a former family firm strategically makes use of the founder's legacy to preserve its organizational identity. Following a single case study approach, it draws on rich empirical material from semi-structured interviews and extensive archival data. We show how central organizational activities are affected by a founder's heritage long after the formal exit has taken place, illustrating the central, enduring, and distinctive elements of organizational identity a founder has. Regardless of ownership forms, the family company founder's legacy is used to legitimize new owners and maintain the organization's identity. However, centripetal moves complicate the preservation of the organizational identity, whereas a high focus on value leveraging in another ownership form opens up for centrifugal approaches which strengthen the entrepreneurial dimension of organizational identity.