What could be more important
than money?
MASTER THESIS WITHIN: Management & Marketing NUMBER OF CREDITS: 30 ECTS
PROGRAMME OF STUDY: Civilekonom AUTHORS: Evelina Tranefors & Isabelle Karadag TUTOR: Mart Ots
JÖNKÖPING May 2021
A qualitative study on how decision-making is affected by
organizational identity in family businesses
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Master Thesis within Business Administration
Title: What could be more important than money? A qualitative study on how decision-making is affected by organizational identity in family businesses Authors: Evelina Tranefors & Isabelle Karadag
Tutor: Mart Ots Date: 2021-05-24
Key terms: Family Business, Organizational Identity, Internal Processes, Decision-making
Abstract
Family business is a vital form of business with high representation across the world, yet the majority do not make it past the second generation. This study explores how organizational identity affects the decision-making process in family businesses. By looking at how family values affect decision-making in internal processes specifically seeks to uncover how family businesses can benefit from understanding and utilizing their organizational identity. The study thereby addresses a gap within existing business literature on how organizational identity affects internal processes in family businesses. This study was based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with six managers from three Swedish family businesses. The collected data were analyzed through a thematic analysis. The findings showed four
justifications as to how organizational identity impacts decision-making in a family business. Findings revealed that organizational identity does have a presence in decision-making and that the owning family plays a big role in shaping the organizational identity.
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Acknowledgements
The authors of this thesis would like to take this opportunity to thank and express our sincerest gratitude towards everyone who has contributed to the completion of this report. Many have participated throughout the process, but there are a few to which we send a special thank you.
Firstly, we would like to thank all of you who participated in this study. A special thanks go to the six participants who took their time and provided us with such insightful findings. Without them, this research would not have been possible.
Secondly, we would like to thank our tutor Mart Ots for his guidance and invaluable advice throughout the process of this thesis. We are appreciative of being under his supervision and for the knowledgeable feedback he has provided us during this time.
Thirdly, we want to thank the other students in our seminar group. They have time after time provided us with valuable feedback that has driven this thesis forward. Without their
contributions, this thesis would not be what it is today. Furthermore, we would like to thank Olof Brunninge who was a helping hand at the beginning of this thesis project.
Lastly, we would also like to give a special thanks to family and friends who have been by our sides and provided endless support throughout this process.
Jönköping International Business School 24th of May 2021
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Table of Content
... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ... 1 BACKGROUND ... 1 PROBLEM STATEMENT ... 3 PURPOSE ... 3 RESEARCH QUESTION ... 4 DELIMITATIONS ... 42. THEORETICAL FRAME OF REFERENCE ... 6
FAMILY BUSINESS ... 6
ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY ... 8
2.2.1 Organizational Identity in Family Business ... 9
2.2.2 Duality in Family Business ... 10
SOCIO-EMOTIONAL WEALTH ... 11
DECISION-MAKING PROCESS ... 12
THE MEANING OF HISTORY ... 13 3. METHODOLOGY ... 14 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY ... 14 RESEARCH DESIGN ... 15 RESEARCH APPROACH ... 15 RESEARCH STRATEGY ... 16
3.4.1 Family Business Selection ... 17
DATA COLLECTION ... 18 3.5.1 Selection of Participants ... 19 3.5.2 Interview Guide ... 20 3.5.3 Interview Design ... 22 DATA ANALYSIS ... 23 QUALITY OF DATA ... 24 3.7.1 Credibility ... 24 3.7.2 Transferability ... 25 3.7.3 Dependability ... 25 3.7.4 Confirmability ... 25 4. FINDINGS ... 27 COMMUNICATION ... 27
4.1.1 Spreading Values Within the Organizations ... 27
4.1.2 Having Good Relationships ... 30
4.1.3 Expectations From the Owning Family ... 31
PRIORITIES OF THE OWNING FAMILY ... 33
4.2.1 Incorporating Personal Values ... 33
4.2.2 Invest in the Local Community ... 35
4.2.3 Sustainability ... 36
LONG-TERM ORIENTATION ... 37
4 4.3.2 Long-term Goals ... 39 4.3.3 Long-term Leadership ... 40 HISTORY ... 41 5. ANALYSIS ... 45 COMMUNICATION ... 45
PRIORITIES OF THE OWNING FAMILY ... 47
LONG-TERM ORIENTATION ... 48
HISTORY ... 49
6. CONCLUSION & DISCUSSION ... 51
CONCLUSION ... 51
THEORETICAL AND MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS ... 52
ETHICAL AND SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS ... 53
LIMITATIONS ... 54
FUTURE RESEARCH ... 54
7. REFERENCES ... 56
8. APPENDICES ... 59
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1. Introduction
______________________________________________________________________ The first chapter aims to introduce the reader with the background on the topic of organizational identity within family business. Thereafter, the identified problem is stated, and the purpose of the study will be explained further. This will be followed by introducing the research question and the delimitations of this study.
_____________________________________________________________________
Background
Each family is unique, something equally true regarding business families. Every family has their own unique set of beliefs, outlooks and philosophies. This is characterized through specific behaviors in communication which in turn influence attention and perception of topics in the business (Prügl, 2020). Family Business (FB) is a vital business form that represents 80% of all businesses in the US, 85% in the European Union, 90% in the Middle East, and 99% in Japan. As clearly stated, FB’s are everywhere and the families behind them are in control of the company (Baassiri, 2018).
In family business research, Zellweger et al. (2010) state that the involvement
components; ownership, management, and control from a family perspective, specify if the business is considered a FB or not. The size of the involvement of the owning family has a decisive impact on whether or not to be stated as a FB. Family involvement also includes the influence of the family into the business (Zellweger et al., 2010). FB can be characterized by both the togetherness and the history of the family. Another prominent part of a FB is its core values as these values reflect the company, it tends to be challenging to distinguish the family values from the business values. Therefore, the families are forced to take responsibility for their personal actions and expressions as it will affect their reputation, both in the family as well as in the organization (Blombäck & Brunninge, 2013).
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The concept of ’’who we are as an organization’’ has been studied widely with the most prominent research being Albert & Whetten (1985). In 2006, Whetten revisited his original article in order to clear up misunderstandings regarding organizational identity (OI) being a defined construct (Whetten, 2006). In some cases, OI is portrayed as a subjective property of observers, whereas in other cases, it is described as a verifiable property of organizations (Brunninge, 2005). Albert and Whetten (1985) describe the answer to who we are as an organization as the combination of three claims, which are ‘’claims of an organization's central character, claims of its distinctiveness from other organizations, and claims of temporal continuity that tie the present organization to its history’’. Together, these three claims are what make up the OI.
The meaning of OI can vary depending on how the concept is used and how members of the specific organization view it. The goals and values of the organization have an especially important role when it comes to the questions of identity; Who are we and how do we wish to be? These statements make the organization unique and more focus-related on their specific values and self-identity, especially when it comes to the
decision-making process of problems and internal business questions (Albert & Whetten, 1985). Organizational culture, identity claims, external images, and desired identity are also parts of the OI (Ravasi & Schultz, 2006). The families’ values and culture reflect the organization’s identity about how the members will understand and behave with inner processes and decisions (Zellweger et al., 2010). The matrix below shows how the organizational identity is built upon employees’ work experiences, management vision and leadership when it comes to the business culture, see figure 1. Figure 1 - Business Culture Matrix
3 Problem Statement
FB work for long-term orientation with the hopes of evolving and developing across generations. Surviving generational succession requires excellent management and the competitive advantage of being a FB is not enough (Aronoff, 2004).
Although many strategic decisions are based on economic models, others are
intentionally based on the distinctive character of the organization (Whetten, 2006). As family identification with the business mediates the relationship between family
communication patterns and the strategic priority. The strategy in FB becomes part of the OI (Prügl, 2020), hence this is an area that needs to be further investigated. This is further enhanced by the notion that shared identity enhances the quality of decisions (Zellweger et al., 2010).
Actions and decisions made by a FB will automatically reflect both the members of the business and the business identity, and vice versa. Therefore, the importance of taking responsibility and following the existing internal OI through every process is important in order to maintain the values within the FB (Hatch & Schultz, 1997). The reasons behind the decision-making in the organization depend on how much the combination between the FB and the family´s values are associated with each other (Blombäck & Brunninge, 2013).
Furthermore, each organization has a purpose with a unique value proposition and a unique set of people that value things differently from others. That can be the key to success, but it might also be the reason for failure. The difference lies in how
organizational members perceive and prioritize issues on their strategic agenda. To understand which issues that make the strategic agenda, the researchers must understand why individuals perceive issues in a certain way and what role organizational context and identity play in shaping these perceptions (Dutton & Penner, 1993).
Purpose
Scholars have previously researched the difference between a FB and a non-family business in terms of OI and noticed that OI plays a significant role when implementing
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change in organizations (Gioia et al., 2000). However, there is a gap within existing literature on how OI impacts decision-making in FB, more precisely decision-making regarding internal processes. As there are family value- based intentions that underlie decisions and behaviors (Boers, 2013) this study aims to discover in what way these intentions impact the actions of FBs. Through, empirically exploring how values, identity and culture among three FB’s affects their internal processes, this research aims to fill the existing gap within business literature.
Hence, the purpose of this thesis is to understand how FB can benefit from
understanding and utilizing their OI. By inductively exploring the management of internal processes in three large family businesses, the study contributes with new knowledge on how OI guides decision-making in FB.
Research Question
Based on what was presented above, it eventually forms the research question, resembling the problematization discussed;
RQ - How does organizational identity impact decision-making in internal processes in family businesses?
By answering the research question, the audience will understand the importance of considering the impact that OI plays in the decision- making process regarding internal processes in FBs. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of maintaining core values within the organization.
Delimitations
This study is delimited to only comparing Swedish FBs to examine what sets them apart when it comes to decision-making in their internal processes and how it affects their OI. The reason for only researching in FB, and not in non-family businesses, is the limited time frame. Hence it will not compare the differences between these two types of businesses. The reasons for only examining Swedish companies is based on a higher
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factor of recognition and a fairer picture when comparing the OI between the companies.
Further, the research will focus on internal processes in the organization to dig deeper and understand the details in the questions of how and why the companies should work with their identity and values. Another delimitation is to analyze only from the
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2. Theoretical Frame of Reference
______________________________________________________________________ This chapter will introduce the underlying literature used to understand the phenomena of how organizational identity affects internal processes in family businesses. This includes key concepts such as family business, organizational identity, the decision-making process, socio-emotional wealth and the meaning of history.
______________________________________________________________________ Family Business
By taking the definition of the word, (FB), into account, it means that a business is owned by a family (Wielsma & Brunninge, 2019).The word can also be described as an accumulation of heterogeneous components from both the family and the business, such as values, founding narratives, holiday rituals, governance practices, employees,
customers, products, warehouses, and local communities (Reuber, 2016). Other heterogeneous components that distinguish FB’s from each other are “how” things are done and how decisions are made (Reuber, 2016). Furthermore, variations such as size, age, and the degree of family involvement in the business also have an impact (Boers, 2013). Pimentel et al. (2018) stated that a business is categorized as a FB if the family owns more than 75% of the shares in the business. Meaning that the family is
responsible for the majority of the management, control and governance of the business (Pimentel et al., 2018). Muskat & Zehrer (2017) state that family identity and business identity often lead to shared identities. The benefits of the combination of family and business identities are the unique values that increase the authenticity and the strong organizational culture that nurtures continuity (Wielsma & Brunninge, 2019).The successful key to maintain family ownership is being long-term oriented and to determine the core values (Blombäck & Brunninge, 2013). Prügl & Spitzley (2020) state that every FB is unique when it comes to each family's own set of attitudes, beliefs, values, and philosophies, but also specific communication behaviors and perceptions of various issues in the business. Research says that FB are more
responsible and careful when it comes to their reputation and image than non-family businesses (Boers, 2013). The FB prioritizes the ownership of the business, employing family members, the OI, and maintaining their socio-emotional wealth (SEW) (Pimentel et al., 2018).
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The discussion about family involvement in business is also referred to as familiness, a definition brought forward by Zellweger et al. (2010). Familiness comprehends the close relationship between the family members and the business, by sharing and transferring knowledge within the organization, but also through generations in the future (Muskat & Zehrer, 2017). The authors go on to argue that the combination of high levels of familiness and close ties, help businesses to increase power and levels of trust between the predecessor and successor.
As mentioned above, the identity of the family members has a strong connection to the business identity, which is also often linked with the business name. Therefore, how the audience perceives the family, their image and reputation can affect the business, and vice versa (Gomez- Mejia et al., 2010). The family brand name can be used to develop social capital between the business’ stakeholders and the family, so it is important to protect the name, though it depends on the degree of the association between the family and the business (Micelotta & Raynard, 2011)
Penney et al. (2019), argue that the main key with a FB is that their values and culture will follow the business through several generations, though in some cases, the
business’ image can change over the generations anyway. It can change with reasons such as divorce, marriage, and the addition of children to the family. This can also lead to changes in family members business roles and relationships. Muskat & Zehrer (2017) argue that less than one-third of founders are passing the ownership control of the FB to the second generation. Then the percentage of the FB being transferred to the next following generation, to the second and third generation, decreases drastically (Muskat & Zehrer, 2017). The idea of FB is that future family generations will be employed in the business and have the majority control of the business. But also, to ensure that the business will survive in the future and still be a FB (Penney et al., 2019). The business identity often becomes a part of the family members identity (Penney et al., 2019), and therefore the family values make the business strong and unique and can be
distinguished from non-family businesses (Aronoff, 2004). This is even more clear in small FB, where the owner is a family member, and tends to be the main person in the organization (Muskat & Zehrer, 2017). There are negative effects of having full-time
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non-family employees as a decision-maker in a family business, such as reducing both family control and the SEW (Penney et al., 2019).
FB can have a competitive advantage over non-family businesses when it comes to a stronger identity, uniqueness, more trustworthiness, and clearer values (Micelotta & Raynard, 2011). The meaning of FB is shared identity, private language, and common history, therefore it is important to keep the family members as a majority in the business (Blombäck & Brunninge, 2013). Every FB is special when it comes to the unique identity, and therefore makes it impossible to copy. The FB identity guides the whole organizational behaviour and decision-making in the business (Zellweger et al., 2012).
Organizational Identity
The concept of identity is one essential to everyone, it is a core concept that helps explain and make sense of actions of individuals, organizations and even nations (Gioia et al., 2013). The concept of OI has been of high interest since Albert and Whetten (1985) introduced the subject and the past four decades have led to a great deal of research on the concept. Since then, there has been disarray of issues related to the definition of OI depending on the perspective taken by the author (Boers, 2013). Whetten revisited his original research in 2006 in order to clear up confusion on the distinction of identity from related topics such as image and culture (Whetten, 2006). Whetten returns to the question of who we are as an organization and lands in that OI are those central, enduring and distinctive (CED) attributes that distinguishes an organization from others. These features become especially clear when members are acting on behalf of their organization (Whetten, 2006). The CED definition has played a central role in research (Gioia et al., 2013), and essentially if a feature does not fall into the CED category that it is unlikely to be invoked as a distinguishing feature. These identity claims later become imperatives in decision-making in order to prevent
organizations to act out of character (Whetten, 2006). Other researchers instead rely on members perception and their associations, feelings and thoughts as the OI (Beck, 2016) (Hatch & Schultz, 1997) (Zellweger et al., 2012) (Wielsma & Brunninge, 2019).
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Whetten (2006) argues that there are two ways of determining appropriate strategic decisions; comparative and historical. The comparative frame of reference is that one should act in a way that is consistent with what is expected of an organization like theirs, particularly in terms of accountability and legitimacy. The historical frame of reference instead suggests that one should act in a way that is consistent with how the organization has made similar strategic choices through history. Both views highlight the importance of doing the right thing for the organization and honoring the past (Whetten, 2006) The notion that there is a strong relationship between strategy (the doing) and identity (the being) has been supported in research and further showed that OI can serve as a filter in the decision-making process that can productively focus attention. Nonetheless, it can also make organizations blind to competitive opportunities or technological change (Brinkerink et al., 2020).
2.2.1 Organizational Identity in Family Business
Considering the vast amount of research in the field of OI, there is a surprisingly small portion of it that concerns FB. Seeing as OI is considered enduring, reflecting core values and has a long-term orientation, it has numerous similarities to the characteristics of FB (Zellweger et al., 2012).
OI has a prominent influence on the decision-making in businesses since identity in family businesses has a connection to characteristics, values and heritage of the owning family that all impact the strategic direction (Wielsma & Brunninge, 2019). Research suggests that FB are more concerned with their image and reputation hence they may avoid activities that may harm them, which is another sign that there is a spillover of family values and norms from the family to the business (Wiklund, 2006).
(Boers, 2013) reinforces the notion that identity impacts behaviour which becomes evident in FB since identity is shared amongst relatives who work together it further creates a sense of shared identity. This distinctiveness in FB arises from a shared history which generates a possibility for FB to capitalize on its family-specific advantages (Zellweger et al., 2012). The importance of history in OI is further recognized by Gioia (2013) whom points out that an organization can only know if they are acting in
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Botero and Thomas (2013) introduced the term Family business identity as an
equivalent for OI in the context of FB. However, it only captures the perceptions that the family has regarding the business in comparison to OI research that encompasses the perceptions of all members. This view neglects to recognize, what can sometimes be, the larger portion of an organization. The researchers state the four components in the organizational identity clearly in the matrix, see figure 2 below.
Figure 2 - Organizational Identity in family business matrix
2.2.2 Duality in Family Business
The concept that organizations could have dual or hybrid OI has been known since Albert and Whetten (1985), however, FB researchers showed little interest in the
concept despite FB being given as an example. The notion of multiple identities existing within one organization does not solely increase the complexity, it is also an essential part in the construction of identity in a FB (Boers, 2013).
There are certain dualities in FB that characterize the core of an organization, e.g. when looking at the non-financial goals of a FB they tend to lean on an identity-related
rationale. This does not directly relate to OI but rather it is an identification, though they argue that due to the inseparable ties that exist between the family and the business it is essential to have an identity fit between the two (Zellweger et al., 2013). Boers (2013) argues that management literature has failed to recognize the role of owners which would yield a deeper understanding of the peculiarities of FB in the construction of OI.
11 Socio-Emotional Wealth
As briefly mentioned in the previous section, FB differentiates from non-family business and are not solely driven by financial goals but are equally interested in the emotional return they receive from their business known as socio-emotional wealth (SEW) (Berrone & Cruz, 2012) (Boers, 2013) (Penney & Vardaman, 2019). The literature on SEW argues that FBs are committed to the preservation of their SEW and in turn affect strategic choices that are made and in cases where there is a threat to the SEW, the family is willing to make a strategic decision that is not driven by financial logic (Berrone & Cruz, 2012). Research implies that SEW has the ability to capture the unique capabilities of a FB and thus serve as an explanation to managerial choices (Gomez et al., 2011) (Vandekerkhof et al., 2018).
The reviewed literature highlights the difference in strategic choices made by family firms compared to non-family firms that are made by top management and tend to have a long-term impact on the business (Gomez-Meija et al., 2011). Non-financial goals play a pivotal role in FB as they are often tied to the family’s identity and often play a role in the satisfaction of non-family stakeholders. These non-financial goals include goodwill in the local community, trustful relations and responsible employee practices amongst other things (Zellweger et al., 2013). Furthermore, authors argue that FB are less risk averse than non-family firms due to the fact that families tend to no lean on diversification of their portfolio unlike other shareholders who spread the risk. Other theories propose that decision makers prefer to accept a higher risk of their finances to avoid a loss or threat to the endowment, hence value SEW above economic return (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2011). This perspective is further enhanced by Penney & Vardaman (2019) that refer to it as the ‘’mixed gambles approach’’. Mitigating risk through diversification is less common amongst FB than non-family businesses. This holds true through internationalization as well and though it could benefit firms to spread their dependence from a single domestic context it also carries a higher risk of losing SEW (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2011).
Through SEW a FB can define the CED features of their business, it is their unique benefits that keep them motivated and committed to preserving these non-financial goals (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2011). Unfortunately, the merger of literature on OI and that
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of non-financial goals in FB has lacked though it could help explain the benefits of an identity fit between the family and firm (Zellweger et al., 2013).
Decision-making Process
In businesses, the decision-making process is a significant part of the OI. By defining the way to communicate and create a common view regarding the organization, it makes it simpler to make decisions that best benefit the organization and the future of the FB (Zellweger et al., 2010). Zellweger et al. (2010) claim that the shared goals and values within the FB and its members, ease the decision-making processes to be united and get qualitative decisions. This type of businesses tends to be more successful than those businesses where the family members do not share values and goals and have poor communication amongst each other (Zellweger et al., 2010). Knowledge is yet another characteristic that influences decision-making (Muskat & Zehrer, 2017) and the major decisions may be more centralized in a FB because the family members know what is best for the business in the long run (Wait & Nguyen, 2015). If communication and expectations on how to argue when making decisions are clear within the organization, there will be no doubt and uncertainty for non-family members in the organization when making decisions (Aronoff, 2004).
As mentioned above, the quality when making decisions is important as it determines the content of the business’ commitment and strategies for the accomplishment (Vandekerkhof et al., 2018). The authors go on to argue that qualitative
decision-making establishes long-term sustainability for businesses. Decision-decision-making is typically examined with the expectation to maximize SEW in FB. Further, the FB wants to maintain the family identity and therefore the FB have to act conservatively and avoid making drastic changes within the organization unless it is deemed necessary. To make appropriate and relevant decisions there are two questions that decision-makers in FB have in mind to make decisions easier, these are; “who are we?” and “what do we stand for?” (Penney & Vardaman, 2019).
Many FB use image theory in their decision-making process, image theory implies that some underlying values and beliefs are organized into images and then guides which
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types of decisions are most useful and acceptable (Penney & Vardaman, 2019). In FB, the business itself and the family members have to consider that the decision-making will affect both (Pimentel et al., 2018). Therefore, it makes the decision-making process is more complicated in FB than in non-family businesses. The family members’ private issues and stress may be brought into the business, and vice versa (Pimentel et al., 2018). A challenge for family owners within small- and medium-size businesses is deciding how much responsibility and authority to delegate. Such decisions are important for the FB who want family members to make and control decisions, so the decisions stay centralized and close to the family in the future (Chrisman et al., 2016).
The Meaning of History
Organizational history plays an important role when discussing and understanding strategic processes and diverse issues, such as the achievement of political goals, collective identities and creating visions for the future. When the strategic process is stated, it is practically fixed and cannot be altered (Brunninge, 2009) The purpose is to help the members to relate to the organizational history, talk about it, and hopefully achieve the aims of it. (Brunninge, 2009) argues that it is easier to understand an organization’s identity and culture if we look back at its history. The organizational members tend to believe more in historical examples, decisions, and actions than in present times. The way organizations are changing and the stability in general, shows in the use of organizational history (Brunninge, 2009).
The organizational members have trust in history to formulate the brand and give it a sense of foundation, distinction, and relevance. The history from previous generations in the business is also important to transfer and bring into the future (Blombäck & Brunninge, 2013) The use of history is particularly relevant in communication, decision-making, management, and marketing purposes. An organization’s history distinguishes different organizations from each other and makes them unique (Blombäck & Brunninge, 2013).
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3. Methodology
______________________________________________________________________ The following chapter will introduce the philosophical approach taken to conduct the research. Thereafter, the research design, research approach and research strategy will be presented with justifications of the chosen methods. This chapter will also describe how the data was acquired, analysed and how the quality has been assured.
Research Philosophy
The purpose of this thesis is to understand how FB can benefit from understanding and utilizing their OI by inductively exploring the management of internal processes.
Therefore, the philosophical approach of interpretivism has been applied to the research. Interpretivism suggests that reality is a social construct that is subjectively interpreted and assigned meaning by individuals. The purpose of interpretivist research is to generate a richer understanding and new insights into these social constructs by subjectively studying these meanings. Interpretivism emphasizes the importance of language, culture and history as building stones for shaping our social world. Contrary to positivism, interpretivism does not believe in discovering general laws to how all people act in situations (Saunders et al., 2016). An interpretivist approach implies that it will be feasible to explore and obtain a deeper understanding of OI on the chosen internal processes in FB. Due to the unique nature of each FB and its history as well as family values, these justifications are expected to be of different nature; hence, the interpretivist approach is deemed the most suitable according to the purpose of this thesis.
Furthermore, researchers take a different stance on the variation of interpretivism. The following thesis will apply the standpoint of phenomenology which focuses on
participants lived experiences and their interpretation of those experiences (Saunders, 2016). This allows to put further emphasis on how variations of lived experiences, history and culture can contribute to the creation of differences in internal processes. An interpretive research allows for richer nuances of human behaviour that tend to be overlooked and generalized, had a positivist approach been used.
15 Research Design
Based on the purpose of this study, exploratory research was pursued. Exploratory research enables researchers to clarify the understanding of a phenomenon of which its nature is unsure (Saunders, 2016). In this case, the phenomena at hand are the research problem of how history and values are significant in internal processes. The
problematization has been further explained in section 1.3 and the theoretical framework and it is evident that research within this field is limited. Due to its limitations, it seems appropriate to perform exploratory research.
After carefully considering what type of study would be most beneficial to best fulfil the purpose of the study the following step was to decide upon an appropriate method. Researchers generally make use of three main methods; quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods (Saunders, 2016). In the case of this study, it was decided to make use of qualitative research. Qualitative research aims to understand how their respondents make sense of their world and allow for a more complex and elastic interpretation of data than quantitative methods. Due to the lack of existing research within the area of OI in FB, the decision to pursue a qualitative method also rests on the difficulty to capture an unexplored phenomenon through the use of variables and numbers. Furthermore, qualitative methods are often associated with the philosophy of
interpretivism and those of exploratory studies (Saunders, 2016). Hence, the relevance of the chosen research design is further made visible.
Research Approach
When conducting research, one can approach theory development in a multitude of ways; inductive, deductive or abductive. An inductive approach aims to build a theory whilst a deductive approach instead aims to test a theory and an abductive approach makes use of both reasonings and is often used in business and management research (Saunders, 2016). Grounded in the purpose of the thesis, an abductive approach to theory development was pursued. When conducting abductive research, one often starts with a surprising fact which researchers aim to explain through the help of empirical evidence as well as academic evidence. For this particular study the surprising fact is the intentionality that exists in decision-making, rooted in SEW that may harm the
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business financial standpoint. Additionally, abductive research is often used when there is an abundance of literature about a topic within one context but far less in the context at hand in the current research (Saunders, 2016). In the case of this thesis, there is extensive literature on the field of OI and FB, however, there is limited research on how SEW affects the OI, hence implicating decision-making processes in FB. Abductive research further allows for existing theories to research when applicable whilst also leaving room for modifications and suggest new theories when needed (Saunders, 2016). It allows to elaborate on certain parts and therefore increase the depth of the research, hence motivating the decision to perform abductive research.
Research Strategy
According to Saunders (2016), the definition of the research strategy is a description of the content and process of how the research will go about answering the research questions at hand. A research strategy is the first step for the researcher to develop, and the aim is to guide the researcher from questions to answers. In this thesis, the research question is the following:
RQ - How does organizational identity impact decision-making in internal processes in family businesses?
In order to answer the research question at hand, in-depth interviews were conducted. The reasons for choosing this method were that it allows for interaction between its context and a phenomenon to be understood and deeply studied (Dubois & Gadde, 2002). In-depth interviews are the most appropriate strategy to adopt because using a qualitative method and exploratory study it’s the ability to grant more in-depth understanding and knowledge (Saunders, 2016). Since this thesis seeks more deep understanding and knowledge about the underlying reasons behind decision-making in FB, this research strategy fits best. The in-depth interviews will deliver questions and answers which are open-ended and possible for participants to elaborate around the answers (Saunders, 2016).
17 3.4.1 Family Business Selection
The following chapter will introduce the chosen FB and aims to provide the reader with some background information. The three selected FB for this thesis and in-depth
interviews are Jula, Kinnarps, and Company 3. The reasons for the choices of the three selected businesses include Swedish businesses, a turnover of over 1 billion SEK during the latest years, at least the second generation that owns the company, an external CEO, and already existing personal contact.
3.4.1.1 Kinnarps
One of the FB this research is going to examine is Kinnarps, which is a 100% family-owned business. Kinnarps was founded in 1942 by Jarl and Evy Andersson, and now the company is on its 3rd generation to control the organization. Jarl and Evy
Andersson´s children and grandchildren own the company nowadays, and some of them are also active in the company. The CEO is Robert Petersson (Kinnarps, 2021).
Kinnarps produce and develop workplace solutions, such as furniture, for offices and public environments. They deliver high quality with low environmental impact. The head office is located in Kinnarps and the whole corporate group has approximately 2,150 employees. Kinnarps had an annual turnover of around 3.9 billion SEK in years 2018/2019. The company delivers its products all around the world, in over 40
countries. The core values at Kinnarps are important as they have a positive effect on the organization. The values are rooted in the family heritage and help the company move forward (Kinnarps, 2021).
3.4.1.2 Jula
For the purpose of this study, the Swedish business Jula was chosen to represent one of the FB. Jula was founded in 1979 on the outside of Skara, by Lars-Göran Blank with the support of his wife Irene when they started producing ‘’julakapen’’ a combined
woodcut and wood splitter. The idea, however, originates back to Lars-Göran’s
grandfather who invented similar creations that he sold across the nation and were used during the second world war (JULA, 2021).
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Owner, Karl-Johan Blank is the 2nd generation and has been active in the business since
the beginning and he played a great role in the development of their catalogue. Together with his father they were early with visiting fairs in not only Europe but also in Asia which allowed them to source the latest products for great prices. The 3rd generation
consists of Karl-Johan’s sons, Christian and Fredric, who have been active in the FB since a young age. They have worked in the different departments, joined their father for buying across the world and today Christian works as a procurement manager and Fredric works with business development at a corporate level (JULA Holding, 2021).
Jula had a turnover of 8,1 billion SEK in 2019, a total of 104 stores, 56 in Sweden, 34 in Norway, and 14 in Poland (JULA, 2021).
3.4.1.3 Company 3
Company 3 was founded in 1942 in Sweden and is currently managed by the 3rd
generation. In 2001 the company got the first external CEO but switched to their current external CEO in 2015. The 3rd generation is still active in the company as CEO on a
corporate level.
Company 3 is the leading manufacturer in Scandinavia of their products. The head office is located in a very small town, but they have several factories across Sweden. In 2019, the company had a turnover of 1.2 billion SEK, almost twice as much as in 2009.
Data Collection
Both primary and secondary data are gathered in this research. The primary data are in-depth semi-structured interviews with participants from the chosen sample. The
secondary data is collected as a complement to the primary data and is retrieved from the digital library of Jönköping University called Primo as well as from Google Scholar. Digital libraries are databases that allow access to a variety of journals, articles, e-books and other publications. The existing literature and research have been used to examine and develop this new research and answer the research question of this thesis.
19 3.5.1 Selection of Participants
When conducting research, unless one looks to collect data from the entire population there is a need for sampling to achieve useful results (Saunders, 2016). Since this
research is not without its limits in regard to time, resources and access there was a need to select a sample. The focus of this study was to investigate how internal processes are affected by the OI in FB. Hence, participants in the sample needed to be aware of family history, corporate and family values and the decision-making processes in order to suit the purpose of the study. Furthermore, participants also had to be employed in a FB that has existed for at least two generations in order to fit the criteria. Consequently, in order to find appropriate candidates, this study makes use of snowball sampling.
Snowball sampling is a non-probability sampling technique, meaning there is a pre-defined criterion of inclusion and only those who meet the criteria are included in the sample (Easterby- Smith, 2015). Non-probability sampling does not aim to be
representative or generalize data, instead, it promotes informational depth which is suitable for exploratory studies. Due to the critique of the principle of bias in non-probability sampling, researchers have been conscious of the issue when conducting the eligibility criterion. Snowball sampling has shown common when members of the population are difficult to identify or access (Saunders, 2016). Once contact has been made within the population, researchers ask them to identify further cases that are appropriate. A strength of choosing snowball sampling is that it can produce rare characteristics. Snowball sampling is most suitable for this research because the participants are selected based on the information provided by the initial participants, but also randomly within, in this case, the business. The contact person in each FB decided the two most suitable participants for this research.
At first, three individuals were approached from three different FB, these were already established contacts by the researchers who matched the eligibility criterion. Once the first contact had been made, the researchers presented the purpose of the thesis prior to deeming referrals of one or two individuals that would be appropriate interviewees. The desired business roles of participants were CEO, business owner, family member, marketing manager, HR manager, and/ or similar role within the business, in order to fill in the issue with the question surrounding the internal processes. The goal was to
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have at least two different participants from each FB, which eventually led us to six in-depth semi-structured interviews. Each referral was thoroughly screened by the
eligibility criteria before engaging in an interview. The interviews consisted of four men and two women and lasted between 25-64 minutes, see table 3 below.
Table 3 - Participant Overview
Participant number Company Position Gender Years within the company Duration
1 Kinnarps HR manager Male 40 64 min
2 Kinnarps Marketing director Female 3 25 min
3 Jula Information manager Male 11 58 min
4 Jula HR manager Female 16 48 min
5 Company 3 CEO Male 19 54 min
6 Company 3 HR manager Male 2 49 min
3.5.2 Interview Guide
In-depth interviews are a direct qualitative research technique that is the most suitable for this thesis. The in-depth interview technique is based on personal deep conversations between the interviewer and participant(s) (Nunan et al., 2020. The discussion aims to ask questions and listen, but also to derive meaning through interpretations with the purpose to understand the participant´s experiences. The advantage of using in-depth interviews instead of focus groups is the ability to explore the topic in a greater depth of insights and the participant can deliver concentrated and developed responses and exchange information directly to the interviewer (Nunan et al., 2020). These in-depth interviews are semi-structured, meaning that the interview has key questions that need to be covered, though additional questions can be included, or questions could be removed or rephrased, based on the responses from the participant during the interview (Saunders et al., 2016). Semi-structured interviews allow for a higher degree of
confidentiality since replies tend to be more personal and secondary questions can be asked with regards to non-verbal clues (Easterby-Smith, 2015). Some of the questions
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were adjusted for each interview and each business, but in general, the purpose of the question remained the same.
The thesis will give an overview of how OI impacts decision-making in family businesses, but examples of a few processes were provided to the participants as examples where culture and values show themselves present. The internal processes at hand are; sustainability, recruitment, and marketing activities.
The interviews were outlined prior to execution, since participants’ first impression of the researchers may impact the outcome of the interview, and included the following specifications;
1. Thanking respondents for participating in the study 2. Outlining the themes and topics to be covered
a. Introduction/ demographics
b. Family values and history of the family business
c. Decision-making processes and sustaining values and strategies 3. Reiteration of GDPR and anonymity agreement
4. The request to record the interview electronically
5. Reconfirmation of consent and assurance that enough time had been set aside At the beginning of the in-depth interview, the interviewer explains the purpose of the interview and tells what both parts will hopefully get out of the interviews (Nunan et al., 2020). The interview will have three main sections; (a) introduction/demographics, (b) family values and history of the business, and (c) decision-making processes and sustaining values strategies. The numbering of each section represents the order in which each theme was presented during interviews. Each theme was developed to fit the purpose of the thesis and gain insight into the problematization at hand. The first section talked about facts within the specific business and a FB in general, the participant role in the business, and the relationship between the participant and the business. The other two sections are further discussed below;
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3.5.2.1 Family Values and History of the Family Business
This section aimed to understand the family values and culture within the specific FB, and what this is based on. The purpose is to get knowledge about family values and culture, but also to understand patterns between different FB and what makes each unique. In this section, the history of FB is also discussed. How the process of changing ownership to the following generation takes place, and the meaning of the history behind the family.
3.5.2.2 Decision-making Processes and Sustaining Values and Strategies
The purpose of this section is to understand and get knowledge of how family values impact and affect the decision-making processes within internal processes. What are the strategies and how much impact do the family and its personal interest have on the decision-making processes? Further discussed is the family values and culture sustainability within the business. If the values can last forever, or there is a need to change over time to keep updated.
3.5.3 Interview Design
Before the in-depth interviews, the participants had to approve to be interviewed and be a part of this research. Participants were also asked if they wished to remain anonymous as a participant or/and the entire business. Some participants wished to receive the structure and questions before the interview to get prepared, but also to make sure to deliver good quality and gather deep information to the answers.
The interviews were held between the 4th and 19th of March, and in-depth interviews
take around 30 minutes to over an hour (Nunan et al., 2020), and the interviews in this study took on average one hour. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions said to avoid physical contact with other people (Folkhälsomyndigheten, 2021), the interviews were held digitally through Microsoft Teams. The majority of the participants participated with both video and audio, however one interviewee
participated with only audio. With approval from the participants, the interviews were audio-recorded digitally, and were then transcribed directly to minimize potential errors. The interviews were held in Swedish to mitigate potential errors and language barriers
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since the interviewees first language is Swedish. The findings were later translated into English.
Data Analysis
Azungah (2018) argued that analysing qualitative data as a beginner can be
unstructured, complex, and time-consuming, which can lead to frustration from the researchers. Therefore, to make it easier and to have guidelines to follow, there are some steps that help the research to go from fully analysing the collected empirical data to reaching qualitative conclusions. The data analysis will be based on a thematic way to analyse the qualitative data. As this thesis includes both abductive reasoning and in-depth interviews (Easterby-Smith, 2015), this type of analysis is deemed the most suitable. Further, the interviews were transcribed and then each interview was
summarized separately, to make it easier to interpret the data. The summaries are a good start for the potential themes in the data set, and moreover, the summaries were
compared to find similarities and/or differences in the researchers’ interpretations. The analysis process starts with being familiar with the data by reading the transcripts several times (Easterby-Smith, 2015) (Saunders, 2016).
The main purpose of thematic analysis is to identify patterns and themes from the interviews and the data set, to answer the presented research questions (Saunders, 2016). When analysing the qualitative data, it is important to have an open mind and look at different views when stating the different themes (Easterby-Smith, 2015). Some themes can be established early in the process and some later on. The underlying reasons for the choices of themes need to be strengthened and represented from a few interviews. The researchers let new insights come up from the data set that can be the foundation for future research.
The interview transcripts were thoroughly screened, and a selection of quotations resulted in 118 codes that were retrieved and organized in an Excel-sheet. These codes were later examined to identify patterns amongst them and start coming up with categories that are slightly more general than the codes. In the final step four themes were stated; communication, priorities of the owning family, long-term orientation, and
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history. In order to strengthen the argumentation behind the patterns and themes that were identified, citations from the six interviews are presented in the findings.
Quality of Data
As the quality of qualitative research is often under scrutiny, it is of great importance to ensure the trustworthiness of the data presented (Saunders, 2016). To certify the
reliability, trustworthiness and credibility of this research, the widely popular Robert K. Yin’s “Case study research method” accompanied by Guba (1981) will serve as a guideline. Additionally, in the analysis section, undisguised citations will be presented to offer the reader a chance to personally interpret the data. Guba 1981 presented four criteria’s when assessing the trustworthiness in inquiries of both quantitative and qualitative nature though the terms used differ. In qualitative research these are
credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability whilst quantitative research refers to them as internal validity, external validity generalizability, reliability and objectivity. These criteria’s have been thoroughly assessed throughout the entire research project and discussion presenting them further is provided below.
3.7.1 Credibility
The question of credibility in research refers to the credibility of the findings, in other words, how true they are. Guba (1981) highlights some key methods of ensuring the data is credible. In this research, we mainly made use of the three methods mentioned. First off, triangulation of data forces researchers to cross-check a variation of data sources, different theories and different methods. In the case of this thesis, data or similar patterns had to be verified from at least two sources to be presented as a theme in the analysis. Secondly, credibility can be increased by debriefing with peers where the researchers let other professionals critically examine the research at some part of the process (Guba, 1981). This process occurred in collaboration with another thesis group, within the same field of study, regularly throughout the research process and allowed for new questions. Lastly, (Guba, 1981). discuss the importance of member checks which entails that data and interpretations are continuously tested with participants of the study (Guba, 1981). Since interviews were held digitally this was of particular importance, therefore both transcripts and the analysis of the results were sent in full to
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all participants. This allowed participants to fact check and bring researchers to notice if there were deviations from what was transcribed.
3.7.2 Transferability
Transferability concerns the extent to which the findings of the research can be applied in another setting that goes beyond the one at hand (Easterby-Smith 2015). Quantitative research often aims at generalizing findings and is argued to create external validity. Qualitative research, on the other hand, is not concerned with generalized ideas, instead, it looks for richer understandings, as social phenomena are thought to be context-bound (Guba, 1981). To ensure transferability, this study provides comprehensive descriptions of the nature of the cases, a thorough methodology and the limitations of the research. This allows readers to judge the transferability inferences themselves.
3.7.3 Dependability
Dependability is of great difficulty to ensure in qualitative research as it suggests the ability to derive the same conclusion had the study been repeated in the same context, with the same method and participants (Guba, 1981). An audit trail was established where readers are able to examine the process. This is not only visible in chapter 3 but also in chapter 5 where direct quotes from the transcript are included as well as
conclusions and patterns drawn from that quote. This allows the external auditors of this research to validate the process and perform similar research (Guba, 1981). The dependability was further increased by allowing students within the same thesis group to review the data and compare their conclusions with those of the authors.
3.7.4 Confirmability
The final aspect is confirmability which is concerned with the neutrality of the research (Guba, 1981). In qualitative research, certain steps are required to ensure that findings are the result of the experiences and ideas of the participants and not interpretations and characteristics of the researchers (Shenton, 2004). This highlights the importance of triangulation once again, where several sources have been used and similarly to
credibility, at least two sources have to confirm a statement (Guba, 1981). Furthermore, questions in the interviews were not meant to steer interviewees in a particular direction.
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Rather they started with open-ended questions that allowed the participant to lead the way.
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4. Findings
______________________________________________________________________ The following chapter will present the empirical findings of this thesis derived from the conducted interviews through a thematic analysis. It presents the four identified themes and provides citations that support and justifies each theme.
In order to fulfil the purpose of this thesis, the researchers conducted six semi-structured in-depth interviews. The thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed four themes regarding how OI in the studied FB’s impact decision-making in internal
processes. These were, (1) What is communicated and how it is done (Communication), (2) The priorities of the owning family are transcended in the organization (Priorities of the Owning Family), (3) Decisions are made with long-term orientation in mind, this applies to relationships, recruitments, investments etc. (Long-term orientation), and (4) History is taken into account in terms of both values and looking back at history when making decisions (History).
Communication
The first theme that was discovered during the research process that was consistent throughout each interview was the importance and the effect of communication, and how communication of organizational identity is central to how FB’s work in their decision-making. The organizational identity is consistently reinforced by
communication and also allows for organizational members to understand the background of the organizational identity. The discussions from the interviews surrounding communication were closely linked to values and culture and how to communicate those.
4.1.1 Spreading Values Within the Organizations
For all three family businesses that were interviewed, the process of spreading values within the organization starts in the recruitment process in order to ensure that each
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member of the organization receives the same information. When participants were asked about how to get their core values out in the business, one participant said:
“It starts in the recruitment, that you think you are recruiting people who believe in the same things as you do, and when highlighting certain issues in interviews and explanations, that this person is on the same page’’ (P1)
P1 went on to explain how they go on to work later on in processes:
“It is a never-ending process, but the important thing is that it is present from the start and that we work with it purposefully in the recruitment process, onboarding process and in training processes so that you always have it with you all the way out in leadership and in employees’’ (P1)
Another participant highlighted that they make it a priority to go out and communicate their values and educate employees at production facilities and offices so that everyone receives the same information.
“We usually gather the staff once or twice a year at our main facility, we also go on tour to our offices and do the same presentation on how things have gone, what we do etc., so that everyone receives the same information. This way we also get to meet all employees and they get to meet the CEO and our key people’’ (P5)
P5 further explained how they have a basic package of information that everyone receives and the importance of introductory material when a business is growing.
“[...] as we grow, it becomes necessary to put our values and who we are in print via slide shows and introductory material for new employees so that the identity and core values don't die out just because the business is growing’’ (P5)
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In another interview with company 3, they explained how they have now moved the leadership education inhouse to gain more control and develop it in the direction of their choice
“[...] we work a lot with leadership development, we educate all leaders through external suppliers, however we have taken over so that it is driven by HR then, so that I can continue to implement the leadership view we should have in future, both on existing and new managers and create a layout for how we should work with it’’ (P6)
In another interview, it was discussed how leaders in the organization have the
responsibility to communicate core values in their groups and make sure it stays alive.
“We have recurring efforts where we set aside time in the entire organization to speak about our core values in different perspectives. It is limited how much we can do at the corporate level, it further becomes the manager's responsibility to work with this. They all know “JulaBase” and they can affect how present and central this is in their group and organization’’ (P3)
Furthermore, one interviewee discussed the benefits of reaching the entire organization with the core values of the organization and what would happen if that process would be optimized. P6 believed this especially beneficial for their organization as the
development rate is so high, he said:
“It probably builds some sort of unified core value, that is the strength in having the same culture. I believe it is easier to refer to those in times of change and we have lots of it, new products, launches, machines, systems etc. which can be really hard for some people’’ (P6)
Additionally, another aspect where communication was deemed significant was to have similar routines internationally.
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“[...] routines and processes that we have at HR are more or less the same with exception to local regulations and rules. Other than that, we have similar routines when it comes to recruitment, bonuses- all major processes where leadership training is the largest’’ (P4)
She went on to explain the reasoning behind the importance of uniform communication no matter where they are doing business:
“[...] we don't want e.g. Poland to go off and have a different structure and routine than what Jula in total wishes. It's about us believing that through this approach and structure we will receive the best results’’ (P4)
4.1.2 Having Good Relationships
An important aspect of communication and good communication is that it is inter-connected with good relationships. It was argued that good communication is a real tool for success for both surviving long-term as a FB but also when stepping up to the role as external CEO. One participant mentioned a few things he noticed throughout his long career.
“As an external CEO, it is important that you understand the core values of the business and that there is a genuine interest to get to know the owning family. That is very important so that you can have a good relationship and good communication’’ (P1)
P1 went on to mention possible negative outcomes if the communication between the CEO and owning family is poorly:
“If you don't engage, if you don't understand them, if you don't create a good relationship with them, then you will have no clue if they agree with the path which you are on or not. It puts you in an Alice in wonderland position, if you don't know where you are going, it doesn't matter which path you take’’ (P1)
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When it comes to communication, it is beneficial to have good relationships with both the owners, employees, and customers so it is important to build a good relationship with them and to get to know them, to better understand the business and their visions.
“So I would say that sometimes we have a fairly close professional relationship and it is a professional relationship that is based on trust and I feel that we have built up a trust in each other’’ (P3)
“It takes time to get to know the owning family. But I have been given an opportunity to do that and work with certain issues, and that makes you get a little closer to each other and they have gained a little trust in me [...]. my long employment has probably helped me a lot to develop that relationship’’ (P1)
4.1.3 Expectations From the Owning Family
The employees and managers have expectations from the owning family, and as a family business, it is important to follow the owner’s vision and direction to develop the business, as well as the business’ survival and sustainability.
“[...] is the owner family extremely active and extremely involved, I would like to state in decisions and opinions, and they are part of the whole journey…’’ (P6)
The same participant said:
“[...] it is important that their expectations are in line with what I want to pursue for HR and personnel policy and also what the CEO sees for the future for the company and then I want to know a little what is their vision for how we should move forward…’’ (P6)
A common reason behind the three companies´ marketing strategies is the use of corporate culture and family values. The values that originally come from the owning family, have shaped the company’s marketing activities and strategies. Therefore, family values are factors in the decision-making process. One participant said:
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“[...] “JulaBase” will actually form the basis in all our decisions and all our projects that are initiated similarly, so it is clear that it is also included in the marketing, what we want to achieve’’ (P4)
A similar response was provided by the marketing manager at Kinnarps:
“I have used a lot of the culture in communication and now I highlight it in our communication, the values that we have, which we may not think about, but which are absolutely fantastic and very nice’’ (P2)
To convey the family feeling and the pride of being a FB, the companies had to include the owning family in the marketing, something that they agreed upon. The owners are sometimes behind the decisions within the marketing activities.
“[...] the owners are strongly involved both in what has happened and what will happen, that everything will be as good as possible because it is also not
possible to create a lot of marketing stuff that they do not stand for because they form such a big core of what the company is’’ (P6)
To use the values and family feeling in the marketing, the companies use storytelling of the business, family members, and history. One participant explained the following:
“[...] if you look at a slightly longer perspective, a 10-year perspective, our marketing until a few years ago has been very much price and product, not really talked so much about ourselves, it was more about our products, we showed the screwdriver, and the price of 199 SEK, come and buy. But now we convey more about ourselves and who we are, etc. So, that has changed’’ (P3 As illustrated by the quotations, different types of communication within the
organization is the key to get a united and strong organizational identity. Spreading the values within the organization is important to make sure that everyone receives the same information and has the values in mind behind decisions. Another type of
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communication that was found was having good relationships that increase the FB’s opportunity to survive long-term and employees want to stay for a longer time. Lastly, it is important to follow the expectations from the owning family, such as their vision and direction to develop the business, because the owners know the FB best and to still be a FB in the future.
Priorities of the Owning Family
The second theme that was identified across participants was priorities. Especially those priorities of the owning family play a pivotal role in forming the core values and culture of the organization. Hence, they are what lay the ground for the actions and decisions that are made.
4.2.1 Incorporating Personal Values
One of the key priorities of the owning family that was discovered was to incorporate the owning families personal core values and beliefs into their organization. This was often shown through the engagement of the owners. When asked about the engagement of the owning family and its importance, one participant said:
“The core values and the family, i.e. the owners have been very engaged in the work of keeping the culture and organizational identity which is essentially what has led me to stay here for so long’’ (P1)
As for where these core values originate from, the answers were unified in that they relate back to the founders and owning family.
“” JulaBase” is the collected understanding of what symbolizes our organization, it was gathered through interviews with employees in the warehouse, stores, new, old, high and low but especially with the owner, Karl-Johan’’ (P4)
Through the interviews it was made apparent that the owning family prioritizes to keep the culture and identity of the organization and put in a lot of work to do so;
