The Achievement Motive

For a solution to the family business definition dilemma, we propose the application of a scale that assesses the extent and the quality of family influence via the measurement of three dimensions: Power, Experience, and Culture. The Family Influence on Power, Experience, and Culture (F-PEC) scale is tested rigorously, utilizing a sample of more than 1,000 randomly selected companies, through the application of exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic techniques. The scale demonstrates high levels of reliability. F-PEC has been applied in a number of studies, contributing to theory development, particularly in terms of the impact of family influence on distinct resources, and as a source of competitive advantage.

The F–PEC Scale of Family Influence: Construction, Validation, and Further Implication for Theory:

Exploring the concept of familiness: Introducing family firm identity

Examines the motivation for achievement as a psychological factor that shapes economic development. Refuting arguments based on race, climate, or population growth, the book instead argues for cultural customs and motivations - especially the motivation for achievement - as the major catalysts of economic growth. Considering the Protestant Reformation, the rise of capitalism, parents' influences on sons, and folklore and children's stories as shaping cultural motivations for achievement, the book hypothesizes that a high level of achievement motivation precedes economic growth. This is supported through qualitative analysis of the achievement motive, as well as of other psychological factors - including entrepreneurial behavior and characteristics, and available sources of achievement in past and present highly achieving societies. It is the achievement motive - and not merely the profit motive or the desire for material gain - that has advanced societies economically. Consequently, individuals are not merely products of their environment, as many social scientists have asserted, but also creators of the environment, as they manipulate it in various ways in the search for achievement. Finally, a plan is hypothesized to accelerate economic growth in developing countries, by encouraging and supplementing their achievement motives through mobilizing the greater achievement resources of developed countries. The conclusion is not just that motivations shape economic progress, but that current influences on future people's motivations and values will determine economic growth in the long run. Thus, it is most beneficial for a society to concentrate its resources on creating an environment conducive to entrepreneurship and a strong ideological base for achievement. (CJC)

The Achieving Society

Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing

This article, based on an exploratory study of old Finnish family firms, examines two main research questions: “How do certain firms that have been involved in business for over one century perceive and rank their business values?” and “How do the members of the owner-families selfassess their family characteristics in these century-old family firms?” There are only 68 companies that belong to either the FBN-Finland Association (Perheyritysten liitto ry) or the Association of Finnish Entrepreneurs (Suomen yrittajat ry) that are over 100 years of age. The data, based on self-assessments of the present active family executives working at the top level, were drawn from 10 FBN companies and 17 non-FBN companies (response rate 39.7%). When ranking the values, the Finnish respondents generally scored the desirable modes of conduct much higher than the desirable end-states. The top values were honesty, credibility, obeying the law, quality, and industriousness, which are all modes of good ethical conduct. The values of yielding good economic return to owners, willingness to grow, and to get social recognition all scored surprisingly low. The adjectives best describing the characteristics of owning families were: committed, responsible, fair, hardworking, and successful.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1741-6248.2002.00175.x

Over 100 Years of Age But Still Entrepreneurially Active in Business: Exploring the Values and Family Characteristics of Old Finnish Family Firms

The practice-driven evolution of family business education

The CEO autonomy–stewardship behavior relationship in family firms: The mediating role of psychological ownership

This paper examines how a family business system serves as the ideological arena of three cultural forces—entrepreneurialism, managerialism, and paternalism—that are, to a great extent, contesting ideologies based on different rationalities, or schools of thought. Furthermore, it reinforces the view that a family business system is the combination of three interacting subsystems (management, ownership, and family life)—a form of business that is challenging both for leaders and professional service providers. The approach of the study is conceptual and cultural. It bases its theoretical background on the developments of Johannisson and Huse (2000) and Tagiuri and Davis (1996). A summary of the key results appear in the synthesis of ideological tensions and are further developed in the suggested C 3 -model, emphasizing the need for balance among creation, caring, and control.

Understanding the Contesting Ideologies of Family Business: Challenge for Leadership and Professional Services

This study investigates the relationship between a family business CEO's autonomy and stewardship behavior. Building on psychological ownership theory, we argue that psychological ownership mediates the autonomy–stewardship relationship. In contrast to prior studies, we differentiate between individual-oriented and collective-oriented psychological ownership as two distinct dimensions of individual psychological ownership. Our results reveal that CEO autonomy is an important determinant of stewardship behavior and that this relationship is only mediated by individual-oriented psychological ownership. Moreover, both individual-oriented and collective-oriented psychological ownership are found to be antecedents of CEO stewardship behavior.

Matti Koiranen

Papers

Over 100 Years of Age But Still Entrepreneurially Active in Business: Exploring the Values and Family Characteristics of Old Finnish Family Firms

The practice-driven evolution of family business education

The CEO autonomy–stewardship behavior relationship in family firms: The mediating role of psychological ownership

Understanding the Contesting Ideologies of Family Business: Challenge for Leadership and Professional Services

The CEO autonomy - stewardship behavior relationship in family firms: The mediating role of psychological ownership