Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business

 

Special Issue on: "Socio-emotional Wealth and Entrepreneurial Performance of Family Firms"

Guest Editors:
Dr. Ramón Sanguino, University of Extremadura, Spain
Dr. Alfonso A. Rojo-Ramírez, University of Almería, Spain
Dr. João Leitão, University of Beira Interior, Portugal

This special issue aims to contribute to the literature on entrepreneurial performance in the context of family firms, by presenting a set of eclectic contributions that are unveiling different dimensions of this complex and still unexplored problematic, especially concerning the challenges raised by the balanced management of socio-emotional wealth (SEW), growth, performance and succession issues in family firms.

Following Martínez-Romero & Rojo Ramírez (2016), further research efforts are needed for distinguishing between ownership and management in order to analyse SEW variations along time. Thus, it is necessary to deep knowledge on effects and implications of strategic alternatives considering different combinations of control and management on entrepreneurial performance of family firms.

According to Wright & Dana (2003), the strategic alternatives facing small entrepreneurial units have experimented dramatic changes and spatial constraints are no longer impossible barriers to surpass. This is fundamentally due to the emergence of a new paradigm, which is characterised by reduced transaction costs and increased managerial complexity that push both small and big entrepreneurial units for implementing multi-prong strategies, in order to deal with distinct scenarios, namely: (i) symbiotic management with an ally in the same network; ii) competing with a rival in a different network; and iii) dealing with a different network, and perhaps joining it.

In this context, there is plenty of room for exploring the role played by SEW in determining entrepreneurial performance from different approaches, due to its importance and relevance for family firms' performance, namely survival, growth, productivity, and innovative performance, as well as corporate governance and performance along the family firms' life cycle. This is a hot topic with an emerging body of theoretical and empirical applications devoted to SEW components acting as determinants of family firms' performance, considering both the endogenous and exogenous factors that can jointly work for a sustainable performance funded on the still unexplored behavioural, psychological and relational dimensions, at the corporate governance level of family firms.

This special issue aims to present a solid body of selected contributions to better understand the internal and external determinants of SEW and entrepreneurial performance of family firms, using eclectic approaches and multidimensional analysis, considering the macro, micro and individual level of analysis.

For recovering the debate initiated by Wright & Dana (2003) and Dana et al. (2008), it must be outlined that both entrepreneurs and family firms need to (re)think competitive strategies, in order to ensure survival and successfully compete in global markets. Nevertheless, further research efforts are required to unveil the role played by the often neglected socio-emotional determinants and also the individual characteristics of the founder/CEO.

For continuing to enrich this open debate, in the scope of the current special issue, the SEW Theory and the Eclectic Entrepreneurship Theory are appraised, namely, socio-emotional determinants, entrepreneurial profile of the founder/CEO, entrepreneurial orientation, proactiveness and innovation, intellectual capital, knowledge management, failures and performance of family firms. Some examples of relevant themes and research questions that might be considered for publication, include:

• The SEW Theory is only applicable to family firms?
• Does the SEW Theory holds in the scope of the family firm's life cycle? What are the socio-emotional determinants of family firms' failure?
• How can we balance the SEW Theory application and financial performance approach in the context of family firms?
• Does the family firm's CEO play a role in solving the puzzle: SEW Theory and Entrepreneurial Performance?
• Is there a dark side in the CEO's actions associated with family firms' failures?
• Why financial performance is not enough to assess entrepreneurial performance of family firms?
• Are family firms moderating the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and performance?
• Do proactiveness and innovative practices foster performance of family firms?
• What is the importance of intellectual capital in determining performance of small and medium sized family firms?
• Is knowledge management important for fostering entrepreneurial performance of family firms?

Subject Coverage
This special issue is planned to trace an original overview on the ongoing discussion concerning the application of SEW and Entrepreneurship Theory in the context of family firms, aiming to unveil the dark side of the SEW's Theory, especially, considering different dimensions of performance, CEO's characteristics, entrepreneurial orientation, intellectual capital and knowledge management. For accomplishing this positioning, both qualitative and quantitative applications on these referred dimensions may be considered. Examples of suitable topics are:

1. SEW Theory and Family Firms' Performance
2. Entrepreneurial Orientation and Entrepreneurial Performance
3. Knowledge Management in Family Firms
4. Intellectual Capital and Entrepreneurial Performance of Family Firms
5. Moderating role of Family Firms in terms of Entrepreneurial Orientation
6. Determinants of Family Firms' Performance across life cycle
7. The moderate role of family managers control on value creation
8. Women in family firm in developing countries
9. The role of the family firm on innovation in primary sector
10. Is SEW good or bad?: taking risk by family mangers firm
11. Minimum rate of return in family managed firm: the role of SEW
12. How influence management innovation on technological innovation and how it impact on performance
13. Social innovation y co-creation and co-innovation
14. Managing technological innovation by family firms
15. How family culture affect innovation
16. Age, leadership and strategic innovation in family firm
17. Social innovation and family firms

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper has been completely re-written and if appropriate written permissions have been obtained from any copyright holders of the original paper).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process.

All papers must be submitted online. To submit a paper, please read our Submitting articles page.

If you have any queries concerning this special issue, please email João Leitão at jleitao@ubi.pt.

Important Dates

Manuscripts due by: 31 January, 2018

Notification to authors: 28 February, 2018

Final versions due by: 30 June, 2018

 

References

 

Dana, L.P.; Etemad, H.; and Wright, R. (2001), 'The Global Reach of Symbiotic Networks', Journal of Euromarketing, 9(2), 2001, pp. 1-16.

Dana, L.P.; Etemad, H.; and Wright, R. (2008), 'Toward a paradigm of symbiotic entrepreneurship', International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Small Business, Vol. 5(2), 2008, pp. 109-126.

Martínez-Romero, M.& Rojo Ramírez, A. (2016), 'SEW: Looking for a definition and controversial issues', European Journal of Family Business, 6(1), January-June 2016, pp. 1-9

Wright, R. and Dana, L.P. (2003), 'Changing Paradigms of International Entrepreneurship Strategy', Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 1, pp. 135-152.

We welcome qualitative as well as quantitative and mixed methodologies, as long as they are well grounded in the literature. Please refer to the following articles:

Dana, L.P. and Dana, T.E. (2005), 'Expanding the Scope of Methodologies Used in Entrepreneurship Research', International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Small Business, Vol. 2(1), 2005, pp. 79-88.

Dana, L.P. and Dumez, H. (2015), 'Qualitative Research Revisited: Epistemology of a Comprehensive Approach'. International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Small Business, Vol. 26 (2), October 2015, pp. 154-170.