Role of in-group collectivism in the longevity of family firms

Abstract

The cultural dimension of in-group collectivism is connected with the concept of social capital, which has been shown in prior research to be a key factor in resource access and longevity of firms. In this paper, we formulate a set of propositions on how the cultural dimension of in-group collectivism moderates the relationship between the characteristics of family businesses and longevity. We look at six characteristics of family businesses: boundary regulation, business reputation, bridging relationships, organizational professionalism, regulated family power, and competitive succession. We discuss some boundary conditions on the proposed set of relationships.

Effect of environmental dynamism on entrepreneurial orientation in family firms: the moderating role of informal institutions

“…It represents a strong sense of family integrity (Triandis et al. , 1988) and is associated with collaboration, cohesion and harmony (Gupta and Kirwan, 2013). The construct is also relabeled as “family collectivism” (Brewer and Venaik, 2011) or “embeddedness construct” as it is concerned with embedded responsibilities toward the family (Gupta and Kirwan, 2013).…”

“…In GLOBE study, in-group collectivism is defined as "the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, and collusiveness in their organizations or families" (House and Javidan, 2004, p. 12). It represents a strong sense of family integrity (Triandis et al, 1988) and is associated with collaboration, cohesion and harmony (Gupta and Kirwan, 2013). The construct is also relabeled as "family collectivism" (Brewer and Venaik, 2011) or "embeddedness construct" as it is concerned with embedded responsibilities toward the family (Gupta and Kirwan, 2013).…”

Country Differences in Family Firm Reputation: An Exploration in Germany, India, and the United States

“…Long-term orientation Long-term orientation cultures are likely to value family firms because of their inherent ability to signal a long heritage (James, 1999) Femininity Feminine cultures are likely to value family firms because of their higher social capital (Ward, 1997) Collectivism Collectivist cultures are likely to value family firms because of their reputation to be more supportive (Gupta & Kirwan, 2013)…”

“…Specifically, we posit that family firm signals may be more effective in markets, which show a relatively higher score regarding the values long-term orientation, femininity, collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance. Past research has shown that long-term orientation is a quality usually ascribed to family firms (Brigham et al, 2013), that family firms invest more in developing strong personal relationships with stakeholders (Schellong et al, 2019), focus more on organization than individual well-being (Gupta & Kirwan, 2013), and are perceived to be a less risky investment (Lude & Prügl, 2019) as well as a more secure employment opportunity (Jaufenthaler, 2023). Where (one or more of) these perceptions align with the value structure of a population, one would expect the family firm signal to trigger more positive associations than in countries where these qualities are valued less.…”

Cultural similarity and impartiality on voting bias: The case of FIFA’s World’s Best Male Football Player Award

“…The GLOBE data set divides collectivism into two dimensions: collectivism I (institutional collectivism) and collectivism II (in-group collectivism). The first form of collectivism is the extent to which society encourages individuals to be integrated into groups; the second is the degree to which individuals express loyalties to their families or in-groups [ 44 , 45 ]. We hypothesize that a voter from a country that is more collective (i.e., a lower degree of individualism) would more likely prejudicially allocate points to players with similar cultural backgrounds.…”