Sustainability, longevity and transgenerational value in family firms. The case of Amarelli

Abstract

Purpose of the paper:In family business research, sustainability has never received as much attention as large corporations despite the relevance of their global economic impact. Thus, the paper's aim is to investigate this issue by taking two key structures into consideration: longevity and trans-generational value.Methodology: Drawing on systems theory, we developed an exploratory conceptual framework (Trans-generational Sustainability Model -TSM) for family firms. We argue that the three pillars for the creation of trans-generational value, representing a longstanding value for family businesses, are growth, family success and local embeddedness quality. An exploratory case study on a long-lived Italian family firm (Amarelli) belonging to the Henokiens association, has been conducted to investigate some of the hypotheses that have been developed in relation to this preliminary model.Findings: In the case of Amarelli sustainability seems to be the result of the combination of a unique strategic orientation and distinctive competences. The presence of family members in management positions is a major concern for the "enlarged" family and high quality of local embeddedness which are likely to support the creation of trans-generational value.Practical implications: The balance between the three components of family firms' sustainability may provide directions for entrepreneurs in their family firms management, particularly during the succession phase or other disruptive changes involving their businesses.Originality of paper: This article provides a review of significant trends in the strategic management approach by studying family firms' sustainability. Its original contribution is twofold: firstly by its accumulating evidence that the creation of "enlarged" trans-generational value may determine family businesses' longevity and sustainability, and secondly, system theory seems as the leading theoretical perspective.

Family firm entrepreneurship and sustainability initiatives: Women as corporate change agents

“…Companies strengthen their commitment to sustainability as they consolidate their entrepreneurial commitment (Dias et al., 2021; Dyllick & Hockerts, 2002; Jansson et al., 2017) because they need to be innovative, adaptive and able to recombine their available resources to create business solutions and adjust strategies to match environmental and social changes (Gundry et al., 2014). However, researchers have only recently begun to explore how EO influences family firms' sustainability initiatives (De Falco & Vollero, 2015), which is surprising as family businesses are a uniquely fertile setting in which to analyse both EO (Hernández‐Linares & López‐Fernández, 2018) and sustainability (Domańska et al., 2022). In addition, sustainability initiatives encourage long‐term social and ecological development, which is closely linked to family businesses' philosophy of creating an enduring organisation (Eze et al., 2021; Mullens, 2018; Samara et al., 2018; Zellweger et al., 2012) and creating value for future generations (Chua et al., 1999; Miller et al., 2008).…”

Operational Resilience as a Key Determinant of Corporate Sustainable Longevity in the Indonesian Jamu Industry

“…According to De Falco and Vollero [4], company longevity is intimately linked to sustainability. According to previous studies, corporate longevity and sustainability must consider operational procedures and the ability to thrive in the current climate.…”

Development of an inter-generational business sustainability framework for family-owned passenger bus companies in Zimbabwe.

“…De Falco & Vollero (2015) define sustainability in terms of achieving longevity for the family enterprise through the creation of enlarged trans-generational value based on a combination of three pillars/systems of family success, business growth (longevity, company performance, innovation ability) and quality of local embeddedness in shared community values, social ties. Schillaci et al, (2013) refer to FB sustainability as the ability to ensure the persistence of the family over time, combining the continuity of the family myth with social responsibility and creating a community of values and intentions (Chundu et al, 2021).…”

“…The TSM was developed by De Falco & Vollero (2015) out of concern that FB sustainability had not received much attention in FB research as compared to large corporations. It was developed using the systems approach on an exploratory case study of Italian firm founded in 1731, Amarelli, that belongs to the Henokians Association.…”

“…It was developed using the systems approach on an exploratory case study of Italian firm founded in 1731, Amarelli, that belongs to the Henokians Association. De Falco & Vollero (2015) argue that the entry point for modelling sustainability for FOEs is to recognize the inextricable intertwined relationship between the family and the business, which leads to family embeddedness. Organizations are examined as complex interacting systems under the systems approach, with the capacity to consider both internal firm-family change and external factors (De Falco & Vollero, 2015).…”