PurposeThere is a growing interest in understanding the strategic behaviour of family firms producing international commodities such as coffee, particularly in contexts where decisions about what products to sell, where to commercialise them and how to promote them appear to be highly based on both business and family aspects. The purpose of this paper is to explore product differentiation strategies in family firms in the specialty coffee industry across Latin American countries. Whilst the socioeconomic relevance of coffee production in Central America is unequivocal, the approach and rationale of families that engage in specialty coffee production remain underexplored.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines product differentiation in specialty coffee family farms across countries in Central America: Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The study relies on in-depth interviews, case studies and an interpretative approach to unpick the dynamics of product differentiation by families in business dedicated to producing specialty coffee.FindingsThe findings show that product differentiation in specialty coffee family farms is influenced by both business and family aspects and driven by entrepreneurial stewards. Coffee-farming families can engage in product differentiation through a shared vision, a combination of traditional and specialised knowledge, and through the continuous development of an exchange network. The findings reveal a connection between families in business balancing family and business interests, and the strategic intention to build up their assets entrepreneurially over time.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on stewardship and strategic behaviour in family firms when families in business engage in differentiating their products in a highly competitive industry. More specifically, this study focuses on companies across countries where coffee is of crucial socioeconomic importance, and where the said companies are owned and managed by families. The study expands understanding of product differentiation in family-enterprise-first businesses and suggests that the family elements in differentiation can be explained through an entrepreneurial stewardship perspective.

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The following document is a case study of the company Agroindustrias La Granja, located in Honduras, Central America, dedicated to the production and sales of the non-traditional agriculture crop, mushroom of Paris. All its production is demanded by Tegucigalpa city. The case was developed with the objective that undergraduate and graduate students can find the problems and situations that a small and medium family firms could face. The student will be able to use several recommended analysis tools, such as SWOT analysis, analysis of optimal marketing mix (Kotler 5 P´s), cash flow, analysis of financial indicators and cost effectiveness indicators. The results are in the Teaching Note, which will be the teacher´s guide for the resolution of the case. Then, there will be a discussion of the case where the students will participate in order to find results and looking for the better solution of the case. In order to realize the case analysis, the students should follow the ‘Harvard Business School’ model. Finally, a framework will be handed to the students for the recognition of the data pursuing to get an action plan linked to a competitiveness strategy for the studied company.

Los modelos de compensación variable por desempeño (CVD) se presentan como una herramienta interesante para mejorar el quehacer de las empresas, en general, y de los agronegocios, en particular. Este documento busca establecer una relación empírica entre la implementación de los modelos CVD y el mejoramiento del desempeño de las empresas analizadas. Para esto se utilizaron dos investigaciones dirigidas por el autor en distintos momentos: un estudio de caso de una empresa hondureña dedicada a la producción y comercialización de camarón, y una encuesta aplicada a una muestra no aleatoria de siete agro empresas ubicadas en distintos países de América Latina. El análisis de la información permitió concluir que si hay un beneficio percibido por los administradores y dueños de las empresas estudiadas, tanto a nivel de producción y finanzas, como a nivel de manejo de recursos humanos (RRHH), ventas y mercadeo y calidad laboral. Sin embargo, el estudio debe profundizar en varios aspectos para establecer un patrón representativo en la industria, por lo que se recomienda realizar a futuro un muestreo aleatorio, acotado por zona geográfica, y ajustar la metodología para eliminar sesgos provocados por otros aspectos que pudieran influir en los indicadores medidos, además de los modelos CVD. Uno de los aspectos que se debe replantear, es la influencia de los altos índices de desempleo en la aplicación y efectividad de los modelos CVD.