Managing Family Businesses in Small Communities

Small businesses located in communities with populations of less than 10,000 were identified in a national sample of family businesses and examined for differences in their management strategies (n = 384). These businesses were first clustered by level and type of management strategy and then analyzed to ascertain differences and similarities in both personal and business firm characteristics among the family business manager groupings. Problems associated with small business management and sources of assistance were also identified. Findings suggest that managers of small family businesses located in small U.S. communities who practiced strategies focusing on extensive planning and controlling perceived their businesses to be successful; however, these managers noted that their greatest problem involved development of sound marketing strategies.     

Expatriate management: Comparison of MNCs across four parent countries

This article reports the results of a study of expatriate management and headquarters‐subsidiary relations in 29 American, British, German, and Japanese multinationals and a sample of 46 of their foreign subsidiaries based on face‐to‐face and telephone interviews with key international HR, subsidiary HR, and subsidiary managing directors. We found that earlier studies, heavily weighted with U.S. multinationals, cannot necessarily be applied to expatriate management experiences of other national industrial countries. Also, expatriate management is more similar for American and British MNCs, while both German and Japanese multinationals in our sample had fairly distinct systems of using expatriates in their foreign subsidiaries. Thus, we can discuss at least three fairly distinct models of expatriate management and corporate‐foreign‐subsidiary control. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Diana: a symbol of women entrepreneurs’ hunt for knowledge,money, and the rewards of entrepreneurship

This article discusses the questions and issues that prompted the founding of the Diana Project, a multi-university research program aimed at identifying factors that support and enable high growth in women-led ventures. Despite the fact that women business owners comprise a significant portion of the economy, women face challenges in acquiring the resources needed to expand their businesses. This article details both the myths and realities associated with women’s entrepreneurship in their quest for growth. In particular, we examine the strategies that women entrepreneurs use to position their firms for growth, especially those strategies related to growth capital. Our results show that women seeking venture capital (VC) have degrees, graduate degrees, and experience that should not preclude them from obtaining financing. We also found that even though women-led businesses are frequently clustered in industries less attractive to financiers, women seeking equity funding are in the appropriate industries. Further, women spend a considerable amount of time using both formal and informal networks in their search for capital and in seeking capital. Because of the importance of the VC industry as a provider of growth capital and its reliance on its network for investment referrals, we also examined the participation and role of women as decision-makers in industry. Women’s participation in the VC industry has not kept pace with industry growth, and women have exited the industry at a faster rate than men, thus creating a significant barrier for women entrepreneurs in that it is less likely that their networks will overlap with the financial supplier networks, despite any effort they may expend networking and seeking capital.

Consumer shopping value: An investigation of shopping trip value,in-store shopping value and retail format

Although delivering value is the key for retailers to create new competitive advantages, the literature on consumer shopping value is fragmented and findings are inconsistent. This study aimed to understand consumer shopping value in-depth by examining consumer shopping processes and experiences in two retail formats: mass merchandisers and department stores. This study conceptualizes consumer shopping value as having two components: shopping trip value and in-store shopping value. Shopping trip value is originated by fulfillment of general shopping motivations, and in-store shopping value stems from retail elements that create in-store shopping experiences that consumers have in specific retail contexts. Five shopping trip value dimensions and six in-store shopping value dimensions are identified from the in-depth interviews. The findings highlight how consumer shopping value is a complex and context specific construct.     

Customer Relationship Management: A Comparative Analysis of Family and Nonfamily Business Practices*

It has been reported that family businesses perceive excellent customer service as critical to the future of their businesses. However, little research into the customer relationship management (CRM) practices of family businesses has been performed. In this study, we examine CRM implementation among 82 family and 370 nonfamily firms. Family and nonfamily businesses report similar attitudes toward the importance of CRM, their knowledge of CRM, and their success when they do implement it. However, using a logit regression model, we find that the actual implementation strategies of family businesses are significantly different from those of nonfamily businesses. These results remain constant when controlling for size and industry sector.     

生产性老龄化:理论与应用视角

有关老龄化社会的讨论大多负面地将重点放在这些严重的挑战上,当然形势的确不容乐观.这类讨论一般只考虑老年人给经济、卫生保健、社会福利体系所造成的负担;并未考虑故事的另一面,即人口结构变化的积极面:老年人寿命延长并且健康.在世界各地的许多发达国家和发展中国家,60岁的成年人仍可预期再拥有20至30年以上的寿命.此外,老年群体的受教育水平越来越高②.