G. Argiolas, S. Cabras, C. Dessì and M. Floris
The purpose of this paper is to examine public‐private partnerships with a particular focus on the impact that such partnerships have on territorial governance. These…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine public‐private partnerships with a particular focus on the impact that such partnerships have on territorial governance. These organizations are spread all over the world with the goal of promoting community participation and sustainable development, and engaging citizens and organizations in the decision making of local governance. This situation underlines important changes in governance and territorial governance models.
Design/methodology/approach
A mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches are used. Analysing the existing literature, the paper focuses on specific type of public‐private partnership: the Local Action Group (LAG). Specifically, this study focuses on 63 Italian LAGs, in order to highlight their role in the challenges that local governance has to face.
Findings
Findings suggest that public‐private partnerships can represent a new model of governance – the Partnership Governance – with features that differentiate this form from other models.
Originality/value
Through a relatively novel statistical technique, combined with interviews, document analysis and direct observations, on the one hand the public‐private partnership phenomenon is observed, and on the other hand, a new mode of governance that is affecting the worldwide scenario in a current era and that is introducing ethical principles in governance systems is conceived.
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Michela Floris, Michela Marongiu, Cinzia Dessi and Angela Dettori
This study investigates the relationship between Total Quality Management (TQM) and internationalization in small family firms, focusing on the role that the dimensions of TQM may…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the relationship between Total Quality Management (TQM) and internationalization in small family firms, focusing on the role that the dimensions of TQM may have as strategic resources to implement successful internationalization strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on the Resource-Based View (RBV), the study is based on a single case study, and data were gathered through in-depth interviews with the family owner-manager.
Findings
Findings show that small family businesses that aim to operate in international markets have to invest constant attention toward TQM by developing strategies able to achieve excellence. More in detail, for small and medium family firms, TQM represents a driver to internationalize. Therefore, family-owned managers sustain that internationalization success depends on the increasing attention exhibited toward the following dimensions of quality, specifically on three main pillars: relationships, professionalization and long-term vision, which appear to be strategic resources in international markets. An interpretive model is proposed with a set of propositions.
Research limitations/implications
Scholarly implications are threefold. First, findings contribute to the RBV theory by introducing the long-term vision as a strategic resource able to activate a loop between TQM and internationalization success. Second, results contribute to TQM literature, highlighting that it represents a driver to internationalize, and following a long-term perspective, its enhancement is stimulated by internationalization. Third, findings contribute to family business studies, underlining the relevance done of owners on professionalization as a strategic resource to ensure excellence and obtain success in overseas markets. The main drawback refers to the fact that results stemmed from one single case study. Further studies could deepen the analysis on multiple cases.
Practical implications
The proposed case study represents a best practice and can stimulate other entrepreneurs and consultants to invest in TQM to thrive internationalization strategies.
Originality/value
The current study, elucidating that TQM is the driver to stimulate family business internationalization, proposes an interpretive model to study TQM and internationalization in small and medium family firms.
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In family firms, growth is intricately linked not only to strategic business decisions but also to the dynamics of generational involvement and entrepreneurial orientation (EO)…
Abstract
In family firms, growth is intricately linked not only to strategic business decisions but also to the dynamics of generational involvement and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). While previous research has explored the connection between family firm growth and EO, it often overlooks the moderating role that generational involvement could play in this relationship. To address this gap in the literature and investigate its potential impact, this study aims to examine how generational involvement shapes the effects of EO on growth. Based on a quantitative study involving 150 Tunisian family firms and employing a questionnaire-based approach along with structural equation modeling using SPSS 22 and AMOS software, the findings reveal that not all dimensions of EO equally contribute to growth. Specifically, proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy influence growth directly and in the presence of generational involvement as moderators. The effectiveness of these dimensions in driving growth is contingent upon the active and collaborative participation of diverse family generations in the entrepreneurial activities of the family firm. This research pinpoints the importance of family firms that wish to ensure long-term EO when multiple generations are involved. It also reaffirms the importance of these notions within family firms for sustaining long-term EO. Furthermore, this study advocates for additional empirical research on the potential role of generational involvement in establishing professionalization and family governance mechanisms. It seeks to explore their impact on the sustainability of entrepreneurial family firms.
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Cinzia Dessi, Wilson Ng, Michela Floris and Stefano Cabras
The purpose of this paper is to explore the “perceptive concordance” – the proximity of perceptions of the business- between key managers and customers of two small family-owned…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the “perceptive concordance” – the proximity of perceptions of the business- between key managers and customers of two small family-owned and managed businesses (“FBs”) and two larger non-FBs in Cagliari, Italy as a preliminary basis for understanding how small retail businesses that are typically family owned have continued to compete and thrive in many Western European cities.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors asked how small FBs have been able to compete in an advanced European economy despite apparent competitive disadvantages relative to large superstores selling the same products. In addressing this question the authors drew on a qualitative research methodology in which the authors interviewed senior managers and surveyed customers of the four businesses and applied an original statistical model to assess the degree of their perceptive concordance with over 100 customers of each business.
Findings
The study's findings suggest a significant difference between key managers and customers of the sampled FBs and non-FBs in the perceptive concordance of the respective businesses held by those managers and customers.
Research limitations/implications
Based on the research in this study the authors have developed a number of scholarly and managerial implications in the way that both FBs and non-FBs may retain old customers and gain new ones by anticipating and not merely responding to their product and service preferences.
Originality/value
This paper extends the literature on customer relations management (“CRM”) in FBs by explaining how small High Street FBs in competitive retail businesses have continued to thrive in Western Europe where owner-managers have developed and successfully leveraged their tacit knowledge of the requirements of repeat customers.
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Michela Floris, Angela Dettori, Camilla Melis and Cinzia Dessì
The paper aims to analyse the case of “Sa Panada srl”, a tiny Sardinian family firm, to provide intriguing insights for the study of entrepreneurial orientation in a context that…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to analyse the case of “Sa Panada srl”, a tiny Sardinian family firm, to provide intriguing insights for the study of entrepreneurial orientation in a context that is anchored in an apparent and hostile past.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory approach is used to analyse a single-case study through a narrative approach. Data were analysed through the hermeneutic trio consisting of three phases: (1) explication – contextualisation, reconstruction and synthesis of the history; (2) explanation – identification, description and understanding of the meaning of the narrative; and (3) exploration – discussion and identification of theoretical and practical implications.
Findings
The study introduces novel best practices that help enhance entrepreneurial orientation in a difficult setting based on change reluctance and past anchored culture.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, the study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial orientation, internationalisation and innovativeness of family firms embedded in a hostile context. The main drawback of the study is its explorative analysis of a single case.
Practical implications
For practitioners, the research proposes the case study as a best practice able to inspire successful resilient behaviour and decisions for other firms that experience daily challenges.
Originality/value
The study elucidates the relevance of individual factors of family owners as endogenous elements that can balance contextual obstacles with ambitions of growth and development.
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Chiara Cannavale, Iman Zohoorian Nadali and Anna Esempio
Entrepreneurship, in many low-resilient economies, plays a critical role in overcoming external shocks. Thus, it is crucial in such situation that entrepreneurial firms can…
Abstract
Purpose
Entrepreneurship, in many low-resilient economies, plays a critical role in overcoming external shocks. Thus, it is crucial in such situation that entrepreneurial firms can survive and even grow so that the whole economy can benefit from a higher level of resilience. The purpose of this study is to understand how entrepreneurial orientation (EO) brings about firms' performance through the moderating role of CEOs' self-transcendence values in the context of a low-resilient sanctioned economy.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a quantitative research that employs hierarchical regression analysis of a sample of 114 Iranian entrepreneurial firms composed of 62 knowledge-based and 52 creative firms.
Findings
The analysis revealed that in the low-resilient sanctioned economy, Iran, EO-performance link is moderated by the level of CEOs' self-transcendence value, that is, higher level of CEO self-transcendence leads to stronger impact of EO on performance. This moderation is not different in creative sector vs. knowledge-based sector of the economy.
Originality/value
This paper addresses a major gap in the traditional EO-performance relationship which is related to the role of CEO values. Also, the context of Iran's low level of economic resilience adds more novelty to this study, emphasizing on the role of CEO personal values of self-transcendence in times of crisis. The results could also be generalized in many economies now facing the COVID-19 pandemic crisis during which CEOs' self-transcendence values are vitally important in overcoming the difficulties of doing business in such situation.