Where less is more: institutional voids and business families in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Where less is more: Institutional Voids and Family Entrepreneurship in Sub-SaharanAfrica Abstract Purpose-The article offers a conceptual interpretation of the role business families plays in the institutional context of sub-Saharan Africa, characterised by voids within the formal institutional setting. Responding to calls to take a holistic perspective of the institutional environment, we develop a conceptual model, showcasing the emergence of relational familial logics within business families that enable these enterprising organisations to navigate the political, economic and socio-cultural terrain of this institutional context. Design/methodology/approach-We undertake a review of extant literature on institutional theory, institutional voids, family business and business families and examine the relevance of these theoretical constructs in relation to the institutional environment of Sub-Saharan Africa.We offer tentative propositions within our conceptualisation, which we discuss in an inductive fashion. Findings-The review underlines the relevance of informal political, economic and socio-cultural institutions within the sub-Saharan context, within which the family as an institution drives business families engagement in institutional entrepreneurship. In doing so, we argue business families are best positioned to navigate the existing Sub-Saharan African institutional context.We underline the critical relevance of the embeddedness of social relationships that underpin relational familial logic within the sub-Saharan African collectivist socio-cultural system. Originality/Value-By challenging the assumptions that institutional voids are empty spaces devoid of institutions, we offer an alternative view that institutional voids are spaces where there exists a misalignment of formal and informal institutions. We argue that in such contexts within Sub-Saharan Africa, business families are best placed to harness their embeddedness within extended family and community for entrepreneurial activity. We argue that family and business logics may complement each other rather than compete. The discussions and propositions have 2 | P a g e implications for future research on business families and more inclusive forms of family organisations.

Trusting in indigenous institutions: exporting SMEs in Nigeria

“…Thus, the more scholarly research pays attention on the behaviours and activities of exporting firms originating in the African continent and the role of informality in complementing or as an alternative to formal arrangements, the more we can understand their actions and behaviours in cross-border trading. Indeed, the Sub-Saharan context warrants scholars to investigate how the institutional environment impacts on organisational structures, practices and behaviours (Boso et al, 2019;Murithi et al, 2019).…”

The role of institutional and family embeddedness in the failure of Sub-Saharan African migrant family businesses

“…Institutional environment is defined as the 'rules of the game', which determine entrepreneurial behaviours (De Castro, Khavul & Bruton, 2014; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Williams & Vorley, 2015). According to Murithi, Vershinina & Rodgers (2019), such institutional environments comprise three pillars. The first is the regulatory pillar (formal institutions) involving formalised rules, laws and associated sanctions promoting certain behaviours and restricting others.…”

“…The second is informal institutions (normative pillar) refer to norms, values, and beliefs that define socially acceptable behaviour (Webb et al, 2013). Third, have cultural-cognitive pillar concerning how certain behaviours become taken for granted based on shared understandings (Murithi et al, 2019)?…”

“…Institutional environment is defined as the ‘rules of the game’, which determine entrepreneurial behaviours (De Castro et al, 2014; Webb et al, 2013; Williams and Vorley, 2015). According to Murithi et al (2019), such institutional environments comprise three pillars. The first is the regulatory pillar (formal institutions) involving formalized rules, laws and associated sanctions promoting certain behaviours and restricting others.…”

Institutional influences on entrepreneurial behaviours in the family entrepreneurship context: towards an integrative framework

“…Where less is more: institutional voids and business families in Sub-Saharan Africa. In their conceptual piece, Murithi et al (2020) seek to identify what role business families play in the institutional environment in Sub-Saharan Africa. By focussing on the family, rather than the business, they demonstrate that dynamics are complementary, rather than competing, and this allows to better navigate in the wider institutional context.…”