Title: How do entrepreneurial networks change across generations in family firms in the Arab world? The case of Palestine

Authors: Nidal A. Darwish

Addresses: Faculty of Business and Economics, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine

Abstract: This exploratory study examines how and why entrepreneurial networks change and develop across generations in family firms. Hence, we employed a case-based approach using family entrepreneurs as a unit of analysis. Eight case firms were selected deliberately for theoretical reasons rather than random sampling. The evidence suggests that the entrepreneurial networks in the present generation are diverse, flexible, and dynamic, while the prior generation was limited in size, static, and uniform. Furthermore, the prior generation had informal, personal, and friendly relations with network members relayed on honesty and mutual trust. It showed a passive approach in searching for new network ties. In contrast, the current generation seems more formal, objective, and professional in interacting with network members, showing a more proactive level of networking. Findings also imply that the new generation tends to change and adapt to their parents' entrepreneurial networks once they take over the family business.

Keywords: entrepreneurial networks; family firms; generational succession; Palestine; the Arab world.

DOI: 10.1504/MEJM.2025.147291

Middle East Journal of Management, 2025 Vol.12 No.4, pp.476 - 501

Received: 02 Feb 2024
Accepted: 08 Jul 2024
Published online: 14 Jul 2025 *

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