Title: Sustainable management in long-lived family businesses – a resource-based analysis of Northern German builder's providers

Authors: Britta Boyd

Addresses: Department of Border Region Studies, Alsion 2, 6400 Sonderborg, Denmark

Abstract: Since the UNCED (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, sustainable development is a socio-political goal all over the world and it becomes even more relevant with regard to the recent discussion on climate change and the financial crisis. According to family business research, sustainability – here defined as social, economic and ecologic long-term orientation – seems to overlap partly with the resources of long-lived family businesses. This case study research concentrates on the sustainable management of family owned builder|s providers which are at least in the fourth generation. The resource-based analysis shows how these long-lived family businesses use their sustainable resources and capabilities to stay competitive. As a result, the sustainable management concept for family businesses will be presented.

Keywords: long-lived businesses; resource-based analysis; sustainable development; sustainable management; sustainability; Germany; building supplies; builders; construction industry; case studies; socio-political factors; climate change; financial crisis; social factors; economy; economic factors; ecological factors; ecology; environment; long-term orientation; competitiveness; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship; family firms; corporate governance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2010.035820

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2010 Vol.11 No.3, pp.308 - 321

Published online: 05 Oct 2010 *

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