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Conflicts in family firms:state of the art and perspectives
for future researchHermann Frank
Research Institute for Family Business,WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria
Alexander KesslerInstitute for Management and Entrepreneurship,
FHWien University of Applied Sciences of WKW, Vienna, Austria, and
Lavinia Nose and Daniela SuchyResearch Institute for Family Business,
WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria
Abstract
Purpose – The aim of the paper is to provide a systematic overview of the literature dealing withbusiness-related conflicts between family members in (their) family firms (FF). On the basis of thisfocus, the research questions are: Which delimitable topics with regard to contents can be identified inthe literature on conflicts in FF? Which findings are available referring to this and how were theygenerated? Which options can be derived for future research?Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on a systematic literature review includingarticles published in peer-reviewed academic journals from January 1990 to June 2010.Findings – It was found that three distinguishable topical areas can be identified: causes for conflictsin FF; effects of conflicts in FF; and management of conflicts in FF.Research limitations/implications – The small number of contributions calls for further studieswith replication studies as a promising option. Due to the specific nature of the conflict dynamic andlogic in FF, which can hardly be captured by quantitative studies alone (even with longitudinaldesigns), a promotion of qualitative studies is advisable, too. In this regard, a systems-theoreticalperspective could utilize the capability of this theory and strengthen the theoretical foundation ofresearch on conflicts in FF.Originality/value – This review shows three rather clearly distinguishable research streams andoffers options for future research, with a special focus of modern systems theory which conceptualizesconflicts as a special system within the family business system.
Keywords Family firms, Family business management, Family, Organizational conflict,Conflict management, Systems theory
Paper type Research paper
1. IntroductionConflicts are not specific to family firms (FF), but they are still a central problem forthis type of company, as due to the familial relations, conflicts escalate much moreeasily and can rapidly shift to the personal level. From this, a specific conflict dynamicsand logic can emerge, with the potential to destroy economic as well as meta-economicvalues and to endanger company and family (Davis and Harveston, 2001; Levinson,1971). The focus of the following analysis is on company-related conflicts betweenfamily members in (their) FF. Hence, the focus is on conflicts that are the subject ofcompany-related communication processes. Purely familial and psychological, as wellas work-family, conflicts are not covered in this paper.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available atwww.emeraldinsight.com/2043-6238.htm
Journal of Family BusinessManagementVol. 1 No. 2, 2011pp. 130-153r Emerald Group Publishing Limited2043-6238DOI 10.1108/20436231111167219
130
JFBM1,2
Looking at the literature, several differentiations regarding the conflicts of interesthere can be made out. Frequently there is a distinction between task, process andrelationship conflicts, with the first often called cognitive and the last emotionalconflicts. In task conflicts, there are communicated disagreements when peoplestruggle for the best solution regarding goals and strategies, which can result in aneffect conducive to success. Process conflicts relate to communicated disagreementsconcerning how goals are to be achieved and can also further success. Relationshipconflicts are conflicts connected with negative emotions that are commonly associatedwith a destructive effect ( Jehn, 1997; Von Schlippe and Kellermanns, 2008).
Conflicts normally occur in connection with decisions. Especially in FF, they canturn into a threat (Beckhard and Dyer, 1983). Preventing and detecting conflicts anddeveloping a conflict management system are thus a central task for FF, particularly asthey can lead to an escalation process that is difficult to deal with (Glasl, 2002).
In the literature, a change of perspective of social conflict in organisations as adysfunctional, stressful event towards a more positive view of conflict as possiblefunctional can be observed (De Dreu and Weingart, 2003; Kellermanns and Eddleston,2004). Prior research, however, mainly focused on the negative effects of conflict(e.g. Harvey and Evans, 1994; Levinson, 1971) and only few works emphasised thebeneficial effect of conflict at a low level (e.g. Coser, 1956; Tjosvold, 1991). In the past15 years, there has been the prevailing view in the conflict literature in general and inthe family business conflict literature in particular to assume that task and processconflict can, under specific circumstances, be beneficial and improve performance(Amason and Schweiger, 1994; Jehn, 1995, 1997; Jehn and Mannix, 2001; Kellermannsand Eddleston, 2007).
Task conflict therefore occurs, when differences in viewpoints and opinions aboutthe task are communicated ( Jehn and Mannix, 2001). Process conflict relates tocommunicated disagreements concerning how goals and tasks are to be achieved( Jehn et al., 1999). Both may foster organisational learning and development processesthrough struggling for the best solution (De Dreu and Weingart, 2003) and a synthesisof diverse perspectives ( Jehn and Mannix, 2001). The literature, therefore, concludesthat both conflict types may be productive. Relationship conflict, in contrast, isdetrimental for performance and satisfaction (Amason, 1996; Kellermanns andEddleston, 2004; Van de Vliert and De Dreu, 1994), because it decreases goodwilland mutual understanding (Deutsch, 1969). Relationship conflict is connected withnegative emotions and affective components like displeasure, frustration and irritation,which makes the completion of organisational tasks much more complicated ( Jehn,1997; Jehn and Mannix, 2001).
All these are reasons to ask what is already known about the conflicts that are ofrelevance in this paper. The research questions relating to the focus referred to above, are:
(1) Which definable content areas can be identified in FF as regards conflicts?
(2) What results have been presented and which methods were used in generatingthem? and
(3) Which options do these results leave for future research?
The following literature review is based on journal articles that have undergone a peer-review process. Literature reviews are of relevance for a number of reasons: theyprovide an overview of a partial area of a subject and its developments, they form a
131
Conflicts infamily firms
basis for research that aims to build on previous knowledge in other to expand andvalidate, they further reflect and support the further development of theoreticaland methodological approaches and they are the foundation for evaluating research,which in turn is the basis for (evidence-based) recommendations for practical use(Tranfield et al., 2003).
2. MethodThe following literature analysis covers a research period from 1 January 1990 to30 June 2010. It was conducted by means of the ABI Inform Global/ProQuest database.Abstracts were searched for the terms “conflict” and “FF” or “family business”. Thisnarrow search strategy makes it possible to identify articles with an explicit relation tothe topic. The search strategy at first resulted in 54 hits. A first check revealed thedouble listing of an article and a book review. One article was written in French andwas eliminated due to lacking language skills. One paper was a comment on a journalarticle, with the article commented on not on the list of results generated; it was alsoremoved. Therefore, the result of this first check was 50 articles.
In a next step, the articles were checked based on the “Jourqual 2” ranking of theGerman Academic Association for Business Research, as only articles in journalsranked at least C were to be included. A total of 16 articles had been published injournals ranked lower than C or not at all. Having also the international relevance ofthe journals and articles in mind, the list was cross-checked with the list of leadingmanagement journals publishing family business articles presented in the review ofDebicki et al. (2009). This left 34 articles, whose abstracts and chapter headings wereclosely scrutinised in order to find out their thematic relevance. Within this process themain focus was on the prominence of the conflict subject as detailed above and onbusiness-related conflicts of family members. This excluded agency-based conflicts,which deal with conflicts between owner family and non-family owners, as they do notcover conflicts in the family running the company. Similarly, so-called work-familyconflicts, which deal with the effects of conflicts in companies on the family and viceversa, were not included, as this paper, as mentioned above, focuses on the emergence,effect and management of conflicts in FF.
This inspection resulted in a reduction in the number of relevant publications. As aresult, ten articles published in six journals between 1999 and 2008 remained(see Table I). This can be seen as a surprise, as although the topic is given someprominence, it can hardly be called a main research focus of family business research.
Overall, this gives the impression that with a search and selection strategy basedon journal ranking and the relevance regarding the postulated topical focus, amanageable number of journal articles remains, for which a quantitative meta-analysisdoes not seem suitable due to the diversity of the articles (Fink, 2009).
Journal Number of articles Jourqual 2 ranking
Family Business Review 3 CJournal of Small Business Management 2 BJournal of Business Research 2 BJournal of Business Venturing 1 AEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice 1 AInternational Journal of Cross Cultural Management 1 C
Table I.Distribution of articles byjournal
132
JFBM1,2
Table II lists the ten remaining papers in chronological order, by author, title, journaland year of publication.
In a final step, based on the analysis of the abstracts and chapter headings, we triedto categorise the articles into topical clusters according to the similarity ordissimilarity of their content. This step resulted in three clearly distinguishable topicalareas: causes for conflicts in FF, effects of conflicts in FF and management of conflictsin FF. Some of the papers dealt with both causes and effects of conflicts: these werecategorised based on their main focus.
Table III shows the categorisation of articles into clusters.Both the selection process of the articles, which resulted in the reduction from 34 to
ten articles, and the categorisation of the articles according to their main topic aresubject to partially subjective evaluations. For this reason, a second person was askedto also select and categorise, without knowing the results of the first person. Theagreement of the selection regarding both steps (checking the 34 article’s relevance andcategorisation of the articles) is, at 81.8 per cent (agreement value) (¼Cohen’s k 0.859)and therefore in a satisfactory range.
Authors Title of the paper JournalYear of
publication Number
Davis andHarveston
In the founder’s shadow: conflict inthe family firm
Family BusinessReview
1999 1
Sorenson Conflict management strategiesused by successful familybusinesses
Family BusinessReview
1999 2
Davis andHarveston
The phenomenon of substantiveconflict in the family firm: a cross-generational study
Journal of SmallBusinessManagement
2001 3
Kellermanns andEddleston
Feuding families: when conflictdoes a family firm good
Entrepreneurship:Theory and Practice
2004 4
Yan andSorenson
The influence of Confucianideology on conflict in Chinesefamily business
International Journalof Cross CulturalManagement
2004 5
Van der Heyden,Blondel andCarlock
Fair process: striving for justice infamily business
Family BusinessReview
2005 6
Eddleston andKellermanns
Destructive and productive familyrelationships: a stewardshiptheory perspective
Journal of BusinessVenturing
2007 7
Ensley, PearsonandSardeshmukh
The negative consequences of paydispersion in family and non-family top management teams: anexploratory analysis of newventure, high-growth firms
Journal of BusinessResearch
2007 8
Kellermanns andEddleston
A family perspective on whenconflict benefits family firmperformance
Journal of BusinessResearch
2007 9
Eddleston,Otondo andKellermanns
Conflict, participative decision-making, and generationalownership dispersion: a multilevelanalysis
Journal of SmallBusinessManagement
2008 10Table II.
Publications onconflicts in FF
133
Conflicts infamily firms
Due to the necessary brevity of this paper, it is not possible to describe theindividual articles in the clusters in detail. Therefore, the following section describesand analyses the articles in the three clusters in table form according to the majorcriteria for scientific research, while Section 4 summarises the clusters in a criticalanalysis.
3. Description and analysis of the clustersCluster 1: causes of conflictsThis group of articles (see Table IV), which deals with the causes and the emergenceof conflicts in FF, includes six publications (Davis and Harveston, 1999, 2001;Van der Heyden et al., 2005; Eddleston and Kellermanns, 2007; Ensley et al., 2007;Eddleston et al., 2008).
Cluster 2: effects of conflicts in FFTwo publications are part of this cluster (Kellermanns and Eddleston, 2004, 2007)(see Table V).
Cluster 3: conflict management in FFThis cluster (see Table VI) consists of two publications: Sorenson (1999) as well asYan and Sorenson (2004).
4. Summarising critical analysis of the clustersTaking an overall look at cluster 1 (causes of conflicts), it becomes clear that all sixstudies are empirical in nature, five of them empirical-quantitative and testinghypotheses. One study uses qualitative case studies, but these have an illustrativecharacter and do not meet any explorative or type-creating requirements. Threeempirical-quantitative studies are based on interviewing several persons in eachcompany, which generally looks sensible in a conflict context. In all studies there is aconnection to FF that are owned by several generations or where several generationshave an influence on management. These multi-generation FF are, judging by theresults, more in danger of conflicts. A potential benefit arising from the presence of thegeneration handing over is not discussed. None of the empirical-quantitative studiesaddresses the topic of justice, primarily procedural justice, although scales areavailable, and tests whether there is a reduction in conflicts, although this wassuggested as early as in 2005 by Van der Heyden et al. This aspect indicates that theresearch into the causes of conflicts might also be conceived as research intoprevention. On the other hand, the paper discussing the pay of TMT, could beinterpreted as an approach towards the topic of justice. Summarising the independentand moderator variables used, the following list can be drawn up: generational shadow,composition of the family work group, influence of the family work group, interaction
Cluster name Article number (from Table II)
Causes of conflicts 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10Effects of conflicts 4, 9Management of conflicts 2, 5
Table III.Main focus of topic
134
JFBM1,2
Nu
mb
erA
uth
ors,
year
Tit
leR
esea
rch
qu
esti
on(s
)
Ori
enta
tion
/sam
ple
/m
eth
od(s
)of
anal
ysi
sH
yp
oth
eses
/pro
pos
itio
ns
Res
ult
s/co
ncl
usi
ons
1D
avis
and
Har
ves
ton
(199
9)
Inth
efo
un
der
’ssh
adow
:co
nfl
ict
inth
efa
mil
yfi
rm
Wh
atin
flu
ence
doe
sth
eg
ener
atio
nru
nn
ing
the
com
pan
yan
da
pot
enti
al“g
ener
atio
nal
shad
ow”
hav
eon
org
anis
atio
nal
con
flic
ts?
Em
pir
ical
-q
uan
tita
tiv
en¼
535,
150,
163
AN
OV
A
H1
:C
onfl
ict
wil
lb
eh
igh
eram
ong
FF
hea
ded
by
seco
nd
-g
ener
atio
nle
ader
sth
anam
ong
thos
eh
ead
edb
yth
efo
un
der
H2a
:C
onfl
ict
wil
lb
eh
igh
eram
ong
FF
hea
ded
by
thir
d-
(or
late
r)g
ener
atio
nle
ader
sth
anam
ong
thos
eh
ead
edb
yth
efo
un
der
orb
yth
ese
con
d-
gen
erat
ion
ofle
ader
sH
2b:
Th
ein
crea
sein
con
flic
tb
etw
een
FF
hea
ded
by
seco
nd
-g
ener
atio
nle
ader
san
dfi
rms
hea
ded
by
the
thir
d-g
ener
atio
nw
ill
be
less
than
the
incr
ease
inco
nfl
ict
occu
rrin
gb
etw
een
firm
sh
ead
edb
yth
efo
un
der
and
thos
eh
ead
edb
yth
ese
con
dg
ener
atio
nH
3a
:C
onfl
ict
wil
lb
eh
igh
erin
the
pre
sen
ceof
the
fou
nd
er’s
gen
erat
ion
alsh
adow
than
init
sab
sen
ceH
3b:
Th
ep
rese
nce
orab
sen
ceof
ag
ener
atio
nal
shad
owca
stb
ysu
ccee
din
gg
ener
atio
ns
wil
ln
otaf
fect
the
issu
eof
con
flic
t
Res
ult
ssu
pp
ort
only
H2a
.G
ener
ally
itca
nb
est
ated
,th
oug
h,
that
con
flic
tsin
crea
sew
ith
the
nu
mb
erof
the
gen
erat
ion
,an
dth
atth
eg
ener
atio
nal
shad
owal
sofu
rth
ers
con
flic
tsF
rom
this
,th
eau
thor
sre
com
men
dth
atth
ein
flu
ence
ofth
eol
der
gen
erat
ion
isto
be
red
uce
d,
orm
easu
res
are
tob
ed
evel
oped
that
resu
ltin
aco
nse
nsu
sb
etw
een
the
gen
erat
ion
sre
gar
din
gth
eco
mp
any
(con
tinu
ed)
Table IV.Description of cluster 1:
causes of conflicts
135
Conflicts infamily firms
Nu
mb
erA
uth
ors,
year
Tit
leR
esea
rch
qu
esti
on(s
)
Ori
enta
tion
/sam
ple
/m
eth
od(s
)of
anal
ysi
sH
yp
oth
eses
/pro
pos
itio
ns
Res
ult
s/co
ncl
usi
ons
3D
avis
and
Har
ves
ton
(200
1)
Th
ep
hen
omen
onof
sub
stan
tiv
eco
nfl
ict
inth
efa
mil
yfi
rm:
acr
oss-
gen
erat
ion
alst
ud
y
How
can
freq
uen
cyan
din
ten
sity
ofco
nfl
icts
from
the
own
er’s
per
spec
tiv
eb
eex
pla
ined
by
var
iou
sas
pec
tsof
fam
ily
infl
uen
ce?
Em
pir
ical
-q
uan
tita
tiv
en¼
457,
134,
143
and
457,
135,
144
Su
bg
rou
ph
iera
rch
ical
reg
ress
ion
H1
:T
he
mor
efa
mil
ym
emb
ers
wh
ow
ork
inth
eF
Ban
dth
eh
igh
erth
eir
lev
els
offa
mil
yaf
fili
atio
nan
dor
gan
isat
ion
alro
les,
the
low
erco
nfl
ict
wil
lb
ein
the
org
anis
atio
nH
2:
Th
eg
reat
erth
en
um
ber
offa
mil
ym
emb
ers
wit
hcl
ose
fam
ily
affi
liat
ion
wh
od
on
otw
ork
ind
ay-t
o-d
ayop
erat
ion
sb
ut
wh
ost
ill
exer
cise
infl
uen
cein
the
FB
,th
elo
wer
con
flic
tw
ill
be
inth
eor
gan
isat
ion
H3
:T
he
mor
efa
mil
ym
emb
ers
inte
ract
thro
ug
hfa
mil
yso
cial
inte
ract
ion
,th
elo
wer
con
flic
tw
ill
be
inth
eor
gan
isat
ion
H4
:T
he
rela
tion
ship
bet
wee
nfa
mil
y-l
evel
fact
ors
and
org
anis
atio
nal
con
flic
tw
ill
be
mod
erat
edb
yth
eg
ener
atio
nof
the
firm
’sle
ader
ship
Th
ev
aria
ble
su
sed
show
sig
nif
ican
tin
flu
ence
,b
ut
the
hy
pot
hes
esar
en
otfu
lly
con
firm
ed.
Th
ere
sult
sd
epen
don
the
gen
erat
ion
run
nin
gth
eco
mp
any.
Con
flic
tsin
FF
run
by
the
firs
tg
ener
atio
nar
ele
ssp
ron
oun
ced
bot
hin
freq
uen
cyan
din
ten
sity
than
con
flic
tsin
FF
run
by
the
thir
dT
he
auth
ors
reco
mm
end
that
par
ticu
larl
yin
FF
not
run
by
the
firs
tg
ener
atio
nan
ym
ore,
the
infl
uen
ceof
fam
ily
mem
ber
sn
otac
tiv
ein
the
firm
isto
be
stre
ng
then
edin
the
sen
seof
“pea
cem
akin
g”
and
that
inF
Fru
nb
yth
ese
con
dg
ener
atio
n,
the
fou
nd
erh
asan
imp
orta
nt
role
red
uci
ng
con
flic
ts
(con
tinu
ed)
Table IV.
136
JFBM1,2
Nu
mb
erA
uth
ors,
year
Tit
leR
esea
rch
qu
esti
on(s
)
Ori
enta
tion
/sam
ple
/m
eth
od(s
)of
anal
ysi
sH
yp
oth
eses
/pro
pos
itio
ns
Res
ult
s/co
ncl
usi
ons
6V
and
erH
eyd
enet
al.
(200
5)
Fai
rp
roce
ss:
stri
vin
gfo
rju
stic
ein
fam
ily
bu
sin
ess
Wh
atim
por
tan
ced
oes
pro
ced
ura
lju
stic
eh
ave
inF
Fas
aco
nfl
ict-
red
uci
ng
orco
nfl
ict-
pre
ven
tin
gin
stru
men
t?
Con
cep
tual
;em
pir
ical
-qu
alit
ativ
eil
lust
rati
onin
fiv
eca
sest
ud
ies
Pro
ced
ura
lju
stic
ein
crea
ses
inte
rper
son
altr
ust
and
com
mit
men
t,as
wel
las
the
per
form
ance
ofF
F.O
ng
oin
gb
reac
hes
ofp
roce
du
ral
just
ice
are
am
assi
ve
sou
rce
ofco
nfl
icts
inF
FD
istr
ibu
tion
alju
stic
eca
nn
otb
ere
alis
edin
FF
,du
eto
the
dif
feri
ng
exp
ecta
tion
san
dfu
nct
ion
sh
eld
by
fam
ily,
com
pan
yan
dow
ner
ship
Th
isp
rob
lem
can
be
solv
edb
yp
roce
du
ral
just
ice,
i.e.
inth
ed
esig
nof
fair
pro
cess
esto
han
dle
div
erg
ing
dem
and
san
dex
pec
tati
ons
reg
ard
ing
dec
isio
ns
Ind
ecis
ion
mak
ing
inF
F,
thu
s,it
isim
por
tan
tto
incl
ud
eal
lre
lev
ant
acto
rsan
dd
escr
ibe
the
pro
ble
mco
mp
reh
ensi
vel
y.In
the
nex
tst
ep,d
ecis
ion
opti
ons
are
dev
elop
edan
dev
alu
ated
,an
dle
ssu
sefu
lon
esar
eel
imin
ated
.T
his
isfo
llow
edb
yse
lect
ing
,ex
pla
inin
gan
dju
stif
yin
gth
ech
osen
alte
rnat
ive
(con
tinu
ed)
Table IV.
137
Conflicts infamily firms
Nu
mb
erA
uth
ors,
year
Tit
leR
esea
rch
qu
esti
on(s
)
Ori
enta
tion
/sam
ple
/m
eth
od(s
)of
anal
ysi
sH
yp
oth
eses
/pro
pos
itio
ns
Res
ult
s/co
ncl
usi
ons
8E
nsl
eyet
al.
(200
7)T
he
neg
ativ
eco
nse
qu
ence
sof
pay
dis
per
sion
infa
mil
yan
dn
on-
fam
ily
top
man
agem
ent
team
s:an
exp
lora
tory
anal
ysi
sof
new
ven
ture
,h
igh
-g
row
thfi
rms
Wh
atef
fect
sd
od
iffe
ren
ces
inth
ere
mu
ner
atio
nof
top
man
agem
ent
team
s(T
MT
)in
FF
and
non
-FF
hav
eon
task
and
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
tsan
dw
hat
effe
cton
the
com
pan
y’s
gro
wth
(mea
sure
db
ysa
les)
asa
mea
sure
ofb
usi
nes
sp
erfo
rman
ce?a
Em
pir
ical
-q
uan
tita
tiv
en¼
ca.
550
top
man
ager
sfr
omab
out
200
com
pan
ies
t-te
st,
stac
ked
mod
els
and
chi-
squ
ared
com
par
ison
s(L
ISR
EL
)
H1
:L
ess
pay
dis
per
sion
wil
lex
ist
inth
eT
MT
sof
FF
than
inn
on-F
FH
2:
Pay
dis
per
sion
inT
MT
sw
ill
be
pos
itiv
ely
rela
ted
toaf
fect
ive
con
flic
tam
ong
team
mem
ber
s.T
his
rela
tion
ship
wil
lb
est
ron
ger
inT
MT
sof
FF
than
inn
on-F
FH
3:
Pay
dis
per
sion
inT
MT
sw
ill
be
neg
ativ
ely
rela
ted
toco
gn
itiv
eco
nfl
ict
amon
gte
amm
emb
ers.
Th
isre
lati
onsh
ipw
ill
be
stro
ng
erin
TM
Ts
ofF
Fth
anin
non
-FF
H4
:P
ayd
isp
ersi
onin
TM
Ts
wil
lb
en
egat
ivel
yre
late
dto
coh
esio
nam
ong
team
mem
ber
s.T
his
rela
tion
ship
wil
lb
est
ron
ger
inT
MT
sof
FF
than
inn
on-F
F
All
hy
pot
hes
esw
ere
con
firm
ed,
wit
hta
skco
nfl
icts
hav
ing
ap
osit
ive
and
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
tsh
avin
ga
neg
ativ
eef
fect
onp
erfo
rman
ce.
Th
eh
igh
erp
ayd
isp
ersi
onis
inre
spec
tof
shor
t-te
rmre
mu
ner
atio
n,
the
mor
ere
lati
onsh
ipan
dth
ele
ssta
skco
nfl
icts
occu
r.T
his
hol
ds
tru
efo
rF
Fan
dn
on-F
F.In
FF
,h
owev
er,
also
incr
easi
ng
dis
per
sion
oflo
ng
-ter
mre
mu
ner
atio
nfu
rth
ers
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
ts,
inco
ntr
ast
ton
on-F
F,
wh
ere
task
con
flic
tsar
efu
rth
ered
Th
isim
pli
esth
atin
FF
too
mu
chp
ayd
isp
ersi
onin
crea
ses
con
flic
tsan
dal
soh
asn
egat
ive
effe
cts
onth
eco
mp
any
’sp
erfo
rman
ce
(con
tinu
ed)
Table IV.
138
JFBM1,2
Nu
mb
erA
uth
ors,
year
Tit
leR
esea
rch
qu
esti
on(s
)
Ori
enta
tion
/sam
ple
/m
eth
od(s
)of
anal
ysi
sH
yp
oth
eses
/pro
pos
itio
ns
Res
ult
s/co
ncl
usi
ons
7E
dd
lest
onan
dK
elle
rman
ns
(200
7)
Des
tru
ctiv
ean
dp
rod
uct
ive
fam
ily
rela
tion
ship
s:a
stew
ard
ship
theo
ryp
ersp
ecti
ve
Wh
atef
fect
sd
oal
tru
ism
,p
arti
cip
ator
yst
rate
gy
dev
elop
men
tan
dco
nce
ntr
atio
nof
man
agem
ent
resp
onsi
bil
itie
s(r
egar
din
gg
ener
atio
ns)
hav
eon
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
tsan
dev
entu
ally
the
firm
’sp
erfo
rman
ce?b
Em
pir
ical
-q
uan
tita
tiv
en¼
107
fam
ily
mem
ber
sfr
om60
FF
Str
uct
ura
leq
uat
ion
mod
elli
ng
H1
:A
ltru
ism
isn
egat
ivel
yre
late
dto
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
tin
FF
H2
:A
ltru
ism
isp
osit
ivel
yre
late
dto
ap
arti
cip
ativ
est
rate
gy
pro
cess
inF
FH
3:
Con
trol
con
cen
trat
ion
isn
egat
ivel
yre
late
dto
ap
arti
cip
ativ
est
rate
gy
pro
cess
inF
FH
4:
Con
trol
con
cen
trat
ion
isp
osit
ivel
yre
late
dto
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
tin
FF
H5
:A
par
tici
pat
ive
stra
teg
yp
roce
ssis
pos
itiv
ely
rela
ted
toF
Fp
erfo
rman
ceH
6:
Ap
arti
cip
ativ
est
rate
gy
pro
cess
isn
egat
ivel
yre
late
dto
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
tin
FF
H7
:R
elat
ion
ship
con
flic
tis
neg
ativ
ely
rela
ted
toF
Fp
erfo
rman
ce
H1
,H
2,H
5an
dH
7ar
esu
pp
orte
db
yre
sult
s,H
3,H
4an
dH
6ar
en
otsu
pp
orte
dT
he
mod
el’s
exp
lain
edv
aria
nce
isat
42p
erce
nt.
Alt
ruis
mca
nre
du
cere
lati
onsh
ipco
nfl
icts
and
isth
us
also
rele
van
tfo
rth
efi
rm’s
per
form
ance
.A
ltru
ism
imp
lies
stro
ng
,p
osit
ive
emot
ion
alre
lati
onsh
ips,
loy
alty
and
resp
onsi
bil
ity
vis-
a-vi
sfa
mil
yan
dco
mp
any.
FF
inw
hic
hst
ron
gal
tru
ism
exis
tsin
the
fam
ily
run
nin
gth
eco
mp
any
soh
ave
are
sou
rce
that
gen
erat
esco
mp
etit
ive
adv
anta
ges
(con
tinu
ed)
Table IV.
139
Conflicts infamily firms
Nu
mb
erA
uth
ors,
year
Tit
leR
esea
rch
qu
esti
on(s
)
Ori
enta
tion
/sam
ple
/m
eth
od(s
)of
anal
ysi
sH
yp
oth
eses
/pro
pos
itio
ns
Res
ult
s/co
ncl
usi
ons
10E
dd
lest
onet
al.
(200
8)C
onfl
ict,
par
tici
pat
ive
dec
isio
nm
akin
g,
and
gen
erat
ion
alow
ner
ship
dis
per
sion
:a
mu
ltil
evel
anal
ysi
s
Wh
atca
use
sar
eth
ere
for
task
and
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
tsin
FF
?
Em
pir
ical
-q
uan
tita
tiv
en¼
86fa
mil
ym
emb
ers
from
37F
FA
NO
VA
,O
LS
reg
ress
ion
,h
iera
rch
ical
lin
ear
reg
ress
ion
H1
:P
arti
cip
ativ
ed
ecis
ion
mak
ing
isp
osit
ivel
yre
late
dto
cog
nit
ive
con
flic
tH
2:
Par
tici
pat
ive
dec
isio
nm
akin
gis
neg
ativ
ely
rela
ted
tore
lati
onsh
ipco
nfl
ict
H3.1
:G
ener
atio
nal
own
ersh
ipd
isp
ersi
on(f
irm
lev
el)
wil
lex
hib
ita
dir
ect
cros
s-le
vel
rela
tion
ship
wit
hco
gn
itiv
eco
nfl
ict
(in
div
idu
alle
vel
)H
3.2
:T
he
rela
tion
ship
bet
wee
np
arti
cip
ativ
ed
ecis
ion
mak
ing
and
cog
nit
ive
con
flic
tw
ill
be
mod
erat
edb
yg
ener
atio
nal
own
ersh
ipd
isp
ersi
on(f
irm
lev
el)
H4.1
:G
ener
atio
nal
own
ersh
ipd
isp
ersi
on(f
irm
lev
el)
wil
lex
hib
ita
dir
ect
cros
s-le
vel
rela
tion
ship
wit
hre
lati
onsh
ipco
nfl
ict
(in
div
idu
alle
vel
)H
4.2
:Th
ere
lati
onsh
ipb
etw
een
par
tici
pat
ive
dec
isio
nm
akin
gan
dre
lati
onsh
ipco
nfl
ict
(in
div
idu
alle
vel
)w
ill
be
mod
erat
edb
yg
ener
atio
nal
own
ersh
ipd
isp
ersi
on(f
irm
lev
el)
Par
tici
pat
ory
dec
isio
nm
akin
gre
du
ces
task
con
flic
ts,
and
the
sam
eg
oes
for
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
ts.
Th
ecr
oss-
lev
elef
fect
bet
wee
nth
eg
ener
atio
n-r
elat
edco
nce
ntr
atio
nof
own
ersh
ipan
dta
sk/r
elat
ion
ship
con
flic
ts,
how
ever
,co
uld
not
be
con
firm
ed.
Sti
ll,
the
resu
lts
show
am
oder
atin
gef
fect
ofin
ter-
gen
erat
ion
alco
nce
ntr
atio
nof
own
ersh
ipon
the
rela
tion
bet
wee
np
arti
cip
ator
yd
ecis
ion
mak
ing
and
the
two
con
flic
tty
pes
Itis
reco
mm
end
edth
atin
case
ofa
hig
hd
egre
eof
par
tici
pat
ory
dec
isio
nm
akin
gth
ed
ang
erof
gro
up
-th
ink
ing
isto
be
kep
tin
min
d,w
hic
hm
igh
tu
nd
erm
ine
pot
enti
alp
osit
ive
effe
cts
ofta
skco
nfl
icts
.If
own
ersh
ipis
spre
adov
erse
ver
alg
ener
atio
ns,
thou
gh
,a
hig
hd
egre
eof
par
tici
pat
ory
dec
isio
nm
akin
gin
crea
ses
the
dan
ger
offu
rth
erin
gre
lati
onsh
ipco
nfl
icts
Note
s:a
As
itis
ah
yp
oth
esis
that
pos
tula
tes
the
effe
ctof
TM
Tco
hes
ion
onth
efi
rm’s
per
form
ance
,th
ear
ticl
eis
cate
gor
ised
wit
hth
eca
use
scl
ust
er.b
As
this
arti
cle
also
con
tain
sa
hy
pot
hes
isth
atco
nce
rns
the
effe
ctof
con
flic
tson
the
firm
’sp
erfo
rman
ce,
itco
uld
also
be
cate
gor
ised
wit
hcl
ust
er2
Table IV.
140
JFBM1,2
Nu
mb
erA
uth
ors
(yea
r)T
itle
Res
earc
hq
ues
tion
(s)
Ori
enta
tion
/sam
ple
/m
eth
od(s
)of
anal
ysi
sH
yp
oth
eses
/pro
pos
itio
ns
Res
ult
s/co
ncl
usi
ons
4K
elle
rman
ns
and
Ed
dle
ston
(200
4)
Feu
din
gfa
mil
ies:
wh
enco
nfl
ict
doe
sa
fam
ily
firm
goo
d
How
do
task
,pro
cess
and
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
tsaf
fect
the
per
form
ance
ofF
F?
Con
cep
tual
As
too
mu
chfo
cus
ong
oals
and
stra
teg
ies
end
ang
ers
per
form
ance
inth
esa
me
way
asto
oli
ttle
,a
curv
ilin
ear
rela
tion
bet
wee
nta
skan
dp
roce
ssco
nfl
icts
and
per
form
ance
isas
sum
edD
iffe
ren
tis
the
rela
tion
bet
wee
nre
lati
onsh
ipco
nfl
icts
and
per
form
ance
:th
est
ron
ger
they
are,
the
mor
en
egat
ive
itis
onp
erfo
rman
ce.R
elat
ion
ship
con
flic
tsh
ave
ap
arti
cula
r“q
ual
ity
”–
they
imb
ue
pro
cess
esin
the
com
pan
yw
ith
neg
ativ
eem
otio
ns
and
red
uce
the
pot
enti
ally
pos
itiv
eef
fect
sof
task
and
pro
cess
con
flic
ts(m
oder
atin
gv
aria
ble
s)In
FF
the
exis
ten
ceof
altr
uis
mca
nb
eas
sum
edth
atca
ncr
eate
ah
igh
coh
esio
nan
dm
utu
altr
ust
.R
ecip
roca
lal
tru
ism
can
red
uce
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
ts.
Oth
erF
F-s
pec
ific
fact
ors
are
the
con
cen
trat
ion
ofm
anag
emen
tco
mp
eten
ces
onfa
mil
ym
emb
ers
and
fam
ily
mem
ber
sof
var
iou
sg
ener
atio
ns
con
trib
uti
ng
tow
ard
sd
ecis
ion
mak
ing
Reg
ard
ing
the
thre
eco
nfl
ict
typ
es,
FF
-ty
pic
alp
rop
osit
ion
sar
e:th
em
ore
con
cen
trat
edm
anag
emen
tis
,th
elo
wer
the
lev
elof
task
and
pro
cess
con
flic
ts,
bu
tth
eh
igh
erth
ele
vel
ofre
lati
onsh
ipco
nfl
icts
asfa
mil
ym
emb
ers
feel
excl
ud
edfr
omd
ecis
ion
mak
ing.
Du
rin
gh
and
over
pro
cess
esan
dg
ener
ally
inF
F’s
man
aged
by
sev
eral
gen
erat
ion
s,ta
skan
dp
roce
ssco
nfl
icts
can
be
seen
asfu
nct
ion
alfo
rp
erfo
rman
ce,a
sb
yd
iscu
ssin
gd
iver
gin
gp
osit
ion
s,k
now
led
ge
and
exp
erie
nce
isp
asse
don
toth
ey
oun
ger
gen
erat
ion
and
the
stru
gg
lefo
rth
eb
est
solu
tion
can
be
exp
ecte
dto
hav
ep
osit
ive
effe
cts
onp
erfo
rman
ce
(con
tinu
ed)
Table V.Description of cluster 2:
effects of conflicts
141
Conflicts infamily firms
Nu
mb
erA
uth
ors
(yea
r)T
itle
Res
earc
hq
ues
tion
(s)
Ori
enta
tion
/sam
ple
/m
eth
od(s
)of
anal
ysi
sH
yp
oth
eses
/pro
pos
itio
ns
Res
ult
s/co
ncl
usi
ons
9K
elle
rman
ns
and
Ed
dle
ston
(200
7)
Afa
mil
yp
ersp
ecti
ve
onw
hen
con
flic
tb
enef
its
fam
ily
firm
per
form
ance
Wh
atef
fect
do
task
and
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
tsh
ave
onth
ep
erfo
rman
ceof
FF
?T
esti
ng
ofth
em
odel
by
Kel
lerm
ann
s/E
dd
lest
on20
04
Em
pir
ical
-q
uan
tita
tiv
en¼
51F
FR
egre
ssio
nw
ith
inte
ract
ion
s
H1
:C
ogn
itiv
eco
nfl
ict
isp
osit
ivel
yre
late
dto
FF
per
form
ance
H2
:P
roce
ssco
nfl
ict
isp
osit
ivel
yre
late
dto
FF
per
form
ance
H3
:T
he
rela
tion
ship
bet
wee
nco
gn
itiv
eco
nfl
ict
and
pro
cess
con
flic
t,an
dF
Fp
erfo
rman
ceis
mod
erat
edb
yfa
mil
y-m
emb
erex
chan
ge.
Hig
her
lev
els
offa
mil
y-m
emb
erex
chan
ge
wil
len
han
ceth
ep
osit
ive
rela
tion
ship
bet
wee
nco
nfl
ict
and
per
form
ance
H4
:T
he
rela
tion
ship
bet
wee
nco
gn
itiv
eco
nfl
ict
and
pro
cess
con
flic
t,an
dF
Fp
erfo
rman
ceis
mod
erat
edb
yg
ener
atio
nal
own
ersh
ipd
isp
ersi
on.
Sp
ecif
ical
ly,
hig
her
lev
els
ofco
gn
itiv
ean
dp
roce
ssco
nfl
ict
are
ben
efic
ial
inF
Fw
ith
low
own
ersh
ipd
isp
ersi
on,
wh
ile
low
erle
vel
sof
cog
nit
ive
and
pro
cess
con
flic
tar
eb
enef
icia
lin
FF
wit
hh
igh
erle
vel
sof
gen
erat
ion
alow
ner
ship
dis
per
sion
Inon
e(o
fth
ree)
mod
els,
asi
gn
ific
antl
yn
egat
ive
rela
tion
bet
wee
nth
est
ren
gth
ofta
skco
nfl
icts
and
per
form
ance
has
bee
nd
etec
ted
;p
roce
ssco
nfl
icts
hav
en
osi
gn
ific
ant
effe
ct.
H1
and
H2
hav
eto
be
reje
cted
Bot
hm
oder
atin
gv
aria
ble
sh
ave
asi
gn
ific
ant
effe
cton
per
form
ance
:co
mm
un
icat
ion
ap
osit
ive
one,
dis
trib
uti
onof
own
ersh
ipac
ross
sev
eral
gen
erat
ion
sa
neg
ativ
eon
e.If
inte
ract
ion
sar
ein
clu
ded
inth
em
odel
,it
can
be
seen
that
all
fou
rh
ave
asi
gn
ific
ant
infl
uen
ceon
per
form
ance
.H
3is
sup
por
ted
by
resu
lts;
H4
only
par
tial
lyT
her
efor
eF
Fow
ned
by
sev
eral
gen
erat
ion
sar
ead
vis
edto
red
uce
inte
r-g
ener
atio
nal
com
mu
nic
atio
nif
task
con
flic
tsar
ise
Table V.
142
JFBM1,2
Nu
mb
erA
uth
ors
(yea
r)T
itle
Res
earc
hq
ues
tion
(s)
Ori
enta
tion
/sam
ple
/m
eth
od(s
)of
anal
ysi
sH
yp
oth
eses
/pro
pos
itio
ns
Res
ult
s/co
ncl
usi
ons
2S
oren
son
(199
9)C
onfl
ict
man
agem
ent
stra
teg
ies
use
db
ysu
cces
sfu
lfa
mil
yb
usi
nes
ses
Wh
atco
nn
ecti
onis
ther
eb
etw
een
var
iou
sco
nfl
ict
reso
luti
onst
rate
gie
s(c
olla
bor
atio
n,
com
pet
itio
n,
com
pro
mis
e,av
oid
ance
,ac
com
mod
atio
n)
and
the
FF
’sp
erfo
rman
ce(b
usi
nes
sou
tcom
es/
fam
ily
outc
omes
)?
Em
pir
ical
-q
uan
tita
tiv
en¼
59F
F;
AN
OV
A,
MA
NO
VA
H1
:F
Fth
atac
hie
ve
rela
tiv
ely
pos
itiv
eb
usi
nes
san
dfa
mil
you
tcom
esw
ill
rely
mor
eon
coll
abor
atio
nan
dco
mp
rom
ise
than
wil
lb
usi
nes
ses
that
ach
iev
ere
lati
vel
yn
egat
ive
bu
sin
ess
and
fam
ily
outc
omes
H2
:F
Fth
atac
hie
ve
rela
tiv
ely
pos
itiv
efa
mil
you
tcom
esw
ill
rely
mor
eon
acco
mm
odat
ion
than
wil
lbu
sin
esse
sth
atob
tain
rela
tiv
ely
neg
ativ
efa
mil
you
tcom
esH
3:
FF
that
ach
iev
ere
lati
vel
yn
egat
ive
bu
sin
ess
and
fam
ily
outc
omes
wil
lu
sem
ore
com
pet
itio
nan
dav
oid
ance
tom
anag
eco
nfl
icts
than
wil
lb
usi
nes
ses
that
ach
iev
ere
lati
vel
yp
osit
ive
bu
sin
ess
and
fam
ily
outc
omes
H1
and
H2
wer
ep
artl
yco
nfi
rmed
;H
3n
otF
Fw
ith
pos
itiv
eb
usi
nes
san
dfa
mil
you
tcom
esfo
llow
mor
eco
llab
orat
ive
stra
teg
ies
com
par
edto
com
pan
ies
wit
hn
egat
ive
val
ues
inb
oth
area
s.In
gen
eral
,co
llab
orat
ion
,co
mp
rom
ise
and
acco
mm
odat
ion
show
pos
itiv
eef
fect
son
bu
sin
ess
and
fam
ily,
wh
ile
com
pet
itio
nin
hib
its
per
form
ance
Th
eau
thor
reco
mm
end
sth
atac
com
mod
atio
nan
dco
mp
rom
ise
isp
refe
rred
toco
mp
etit
ion
and
avoi
dan
ce
(con
tinu
ed)
Table VI.Description of cluster 3:
conflict management
143
Conflicts infamily firms
Nu
mb
erA
uth
ors
(yea
r)T
itle
Res
earc
hq
ues
tion
(s)
Ori
enta
tion
/sam
ple
/m
eth
od(s
)of
anal
ysi
sH
yp
oth
eses
/pro
pos
itio
ns
Res
ult
s/co
ncl
usi
ons
5Y
anan
dS
oren
son
(200
4)
Th
ein
flu
ence
ofC
onfu
cian
ideo
log
yon
con
flic
tin
Ch
ines
efa
mil
yb
usi
nes
s
How
can
the
sele
ctio
nof
the
con
flic
tm
anag
emen
tst
rate
gy
inF
Fb
eex
pla
ined
onth
eb
asis
ofC
onfu
cian
ideo
log
y?
Con
cep
tual
Th
ed
ual
-con
cern
mod
el(o
wn
inte
rest
vs
inte
rest
ofot
her
s)is
tob
esu
rpas
sed
,as
the
sele
ctio
nof
the
con
flic
tm
anag
emen
tst
rate
gy
dep
end
son
oth
erin
flu
ence
sT
he
dep
end
ent
var
iab
leis
the
fiv
eco
nfl
ict
man
agem
ent
styl
es(c
olla
bor
atio
n,
com
pet
itio
n,
com
pro
mis
e,av
oid
ance
,ac
com
mod
atio
n).
Ad
dit
ion
alin
flu
ence
saf
fect
ing
the
sele
ctio
nof
the
con
flic
tm
anag
emen
tst
rate
gy
incl
ud
etr
ans-
ind
ivid
ual
val
ues
such
asg
ood
rela
tion
san
dsh
ared
inte
rest
s,n
orm
san
dv
alu
esP
1:
Con
cern
abou
tg
ood
rela
tion
sco
rrel
ates
pos
itiv
ely
wit
han
avoi
dan
ce,
acco
mm
odat
ion
and
com
pro
mis
est
rate
gy
and
neg
ativ
ely
wit
ha
com
pet
itio
nst
rate
gy
P2a
:C
once
rnab
out
adh
erin
gto
inte
r-p
erso
nal
nor
ms
corr
elat
esp
osit
ivel
yw
ith
aco
mp
etit
ion
stra
teg
y,i.e
.if
soci
aln
orm
sar
eb
reac
hed
,on
etr
ies
tod
efen
dth
emP
2b:
Con
cern
abou
tad
her
ing
toin
ter-
per
son
aln
orm
san
dfa
mil
yv
alu
esco
rrel
ates
pos
itiv
ely
wit
han
avoi
dan
ce,
com
pro
mis
ean
dac
com
mod
atio
nst
rate
gy
reg
ard
ing
goa
lco
nfl
icts
P2c:
Per
son
sin
vol
ved
inco
nfl
icts
wit
ha
low
stat
us,
you
ng
age
and
/or
fem
ale
per
son
sre
du
ce,
reg
ard
ing
nor
mco
nfl
icts
,th
ete
nd
ency
tow
ard
sco
mp
etit
ion
stra
teg
ies,
wh
ilep
erso
ns
wit
ha
hig
hst
atu
sra
ther
follo
wth
ese.
On
the
oth
erh
and
,co
llect
ive
inte
rest
ssu
chas
thos
eof
the
fam
ily
ran
kh
igh
erth
anin
div
idu
alin
tere
sts
P3a
:C
once
rnab
out
foll
owin
gco
llec
tiv
ein
tere
sts
corr
elat
esp
osit
ivel
yw
ith
anav
oid
ance
stra
teg
yin
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
ts,i
.e.
rela
tion
ship
con
flic
tsar
era
ther
avoi
ded
asn
otto
end
ang
erfo
llow
ing
coll
ecti
ve
inte
rest
sP
3b:
Con
cern
abou
tfo
llow
ing
coll
ecti
ve
inte
rest
sco
rrel
ates
pos
itiv
ely
wit
ha
coll
abor
atio
nst
rate
gy
;in
ord
erto
mas
ter
task
con
flic
ts,
i.e.
toac
hie
ve
coll
ecti
ve
aim
s,a
way
ofco
llab
orat
ion
isai
med
for
des
pit
ed
iver
gin
gp
refe
ren
ces
Table VI.
144
JFBM1,2
of the family work group, procedural justice, pay dispersion of TMT, type of decisionmaking, generation-related concentration of ownership and altruism.
Anchoring these variables in one (or more) theories, reflecting on the resultsregarding theories used or using these results for developing theories are all onlyattempted sparingly. The articles hardly refer to each other, only Eddleston et al. (2008)cite the two papers by Davis and Harveston (1999, 2001), and Eddleston andKellermanns (2007) refer to Davis and Harveston (2001). What can be detected is abroadening of topics in the research into the causes of conflicts, which due to the smallnumber of publications should not come as a surprise.
The articles from cluster 2 (effects of conflicts) harmonise with each other, which isnot surprising considering they were both written by the same authors. One paper isempirical-quantitative, the other one conceptual. In contrast to the negative effect onperformance of relationship conflicts, the positive effect of task and process conflictshas not quite been confirmed yet. Only taking moderator variables into accountprovides more clarity regarding positive effects on performance. In the empirical study,the following independent variables are used: task conflicts, process conflicts,communication (relating to family members) and generation-related income distribution.
The two papers of cluster 3 supplement each other nicely, as on the one hand theeffects of conflict management strategies and on the other hand decisions on the use ofconflict management strategies are analysed, with the latter, so the argument goes,particularly in FF influenced not just by individual, but by collective interests andvalues. Both questions are of central importance for practical purposes, as analysingcauses and effects of conflicts in FF alone does not provide sufficient competence forsolutions. Seen from this point of view, this is definitely an under-researched area. Asindependent and moderating variables the five conflict management styles orstrategies are used; in the second paper it is common norms and values, as well asinterests and various types of conflicts, status and gender.
Concerning the first two research questions, it can be said that the literatureanalysed does show topic areas that can be easily kept apart and have been referred toas causes of conflicts, effects of conflicts and conflict management. On the one hand, anappreciation of the results is easy if one lists the results presented in a research-technical sense and can thus see that relationship conflicts are a sensitive area, thatinfluence exerted by the handover-generation increases conflicts and that the effectof task and process conflicts is to be seen in specific contexts rather than isolated. Onthe other hand, there is no satisfactory picture regarding the possibility to deriveevidence-based recommendations for use in practice. Although the topic of conflicts inFF has been discussed for several decades (Levinson, 1971), the impression is borne outthat FF-related conflict research is still in an early stage of development. If consultantswere only able to draw on knowledge contained in the articles analysed, manyproblems would have to be left unsolved. By implication this means that practicerequires a more extensive knowledge base.
In order to answer research question (3), what options there are for future research,it might be worth looking at the articles analysed again. Many of the papers presented(see Table II) make suggestions, both topical and occasionally methodological, forfuture research projects. These are listed below, grouped by cluster.Cluster 1:
(1) Taking into account planning behaviour: common planning could reduceconflict, as the proposition goes.
145
Conflicts infamily firms
(2) Taking into account further external and family-internal stakeholders(e.g. banks, persons or firms potentially taking over the company in future,influential persons associated with the family running the firm). These canstart or reduce conflicts.
(3) Taking into account justice: procedural justice is said to have a conflict-reducing effect. It has to be kept in mind here that justice in the family followsother premises than in a company (Simon et al., 2005).
(4) Taking into account the hierarchy in the family and in the company: here theassumption is a clear hierarchical ranking makes decisions solve conflicts.This holds true as long as the hierarchy is not questioned.
(5) Taking into account the influence of a family constitution (or an advisorybody). This can have a preventative effect; often such an institution alsoincludes rules for solving conflicts.
(6) Taking into account the (quality of the) relationships in the family: resilientrelationships can reduce the negative effects of conflicts.
Cluster 2:
(1) Emphasis on studying the effect of the various conflict types in the handoverand succession process and their effects on performance.
(2) Emphasis on studying FF that are successful in spite of relationship conflicts.This indicates that FF that do not lose track of the company’s and/or family’swell-being despite numerous conflicts can limit the negative effects ofrelationship conflicts.
(3) Emphasis on the search for moderator variables that influence the relationbetween conflict and performance. The example above regarding the limiteddamaging effect of relationship conflicts shows the relevance of this claim.
Cluster 3: as regards the publications categorised in this cluster, no specificrecommendations for future research projects were identified.
From the methodological point of view, there is frequently a call for panel studiesand data collection strategies that interview several people per company in order toensure the quality of the data.
These suggestions for future research projects result from the respective researchdesign and the results thus derived at. Overall, a fairly erratic picture emerges thatdoes not provide any satisfactory indication of general perspectives for future researchprojects. The following section tries to outline an answer to this problem and hence toresearch question (3).
5. Options for future conflict research in FFAgainst this background, three perspectives for future conflict research will beoutlined that are deemed to be particularly important, with reasons provided in therespective descriptions:
(1) measures to increase reliability and validity of conflict studies (replications);
(2) researching conflicts in FF by means of qualitative methodology; and
(3) emphasising the theoretical anchoring of conflict research.
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JFBM1,2
5.1 Measures to increase reliability and validity of quantitative dataIn empirical-quantitative research, conflict studies face particular challenges. While instudies that analyse e.g. the link between strategy and performance a single personas a source of data can already be criticised by means of dependent and independentvariables (common method bias), conflict studies naturally involve diverging orcontrasting points of view, which have higher demands on reliability and validity.Therefore, methods will be discussed that can result in an increased reliability andvalidity.
Reliability describes the degree of exactness with which a particular aspect ismeasured. Thus the reliability of a measurement is high if the test values of a personare identical when measured under identical circumstances (Kubinger, 2006). A methodto increase measuring accuracy is retest reliability, which involves interviewing thesame person again at a later date. This method does increase the reliability of themeasuring instrument, but also presupposes the stability of the feature measured.From conflict research, however, it can be seen that conflict processes can be subject tochange (Regnet, 2001) and so make measuring retest reliability more difficult. As,however, in FF research the main focus is not on developing procedures in line with thetest theory, which aims at a continuous improvement of reliability, but on developingand testing hypotheses by means of measuring instruments that should have asatisfactory reliability, more attention should be paid to validity.
Validity refers to the validness of the data collected within the conflict construct.One specific form is external validity, which describes to what extent results can begeneralised. Empirical studies show a high degree of external validity if the results forthe population specific to the study can be generalised and the design of the study isvalid at another time or in another situation. Each successful replication of the researchdesign (with or without extensions) increases external validity (e.g. Frank et al., 2010),as by varying sample or setting the restrictions on generalising results become fewer(e.g. Schnell et al., 2008). Replication is essential for the validity of results, but also forgenerating knowledge, as it increases the transferability of results to other contextsand furthers theory development (Tsang and Kwan, 1999). According to Tsang andKwan (1999) the added value of replications is not perceived properly, although inthe FF research field the dearth of replication studies significantly restricts thedevelopment of a scientifically grounded knowledge base for conflict research. Here itseems obvious to replicate particularly those studies that show a high quality and weretherefore generally published in highly ranked journals; these mainly includeEddleston and Kellermanns (2007), Kellermanns and Eddleston (2007) and Eddlestonet al. (2008).
Regarding external validity and in a broader sense replication (as a method toincrease the validity of results), another method could be mentioned, which on the onehand lowers the common method bias (Podsakoff et al., 2003) mentioned above and, onthe other hand, increases validity. In this sense, interviewing several persons is oneway to reduce bias and increase validity. Several studies on conflict research in FF,however, were based on interviewing just one person (generally the owner) (e.g. Davisand Harveston, 2001; Sorenson, 1999), while only few studies included several familymembers active in the company (e.g. Kellermanns and Eddleston, 2007; Eddleston andKellermanns, 2007; Eddleston et al., 2008). An optimum form of analysing data ofseveral family members in a FF is aggregating the values (Kellermanns and Eddleston,2007; Eddleston and Kellermanns, 2007; Ensley et al., 2007). Based on the consensusmodel by Chan (1998), consensus within the group is a prerequisite for aggregating
147
Conflicts infamily firms
values on a group level and so allows the calculation of a value for the company level(e.g. James et al., 1984). To determine the degree of consensus, the rwg according toJames et al. (1984) is calculated for FF, where more than one family member answered.If rwg is higher than 0.50, the answers show no high dispersion and calculating anaggregated value is acceptable ( James et al., 1984).
5.2 Qualitative research strategyThe impression arises that the articles analysed provide interesting explanations. Thecontexts and the specific processuality of conflicts, however, do not come to life in thismanner. It is hardly possible to understand the overall picture and the contentreferences of conflicts. A static image of conflicts emerges, where neither escalation andde-escalation processes, conflict interruptions, conflict termination, nor the shift fromlatent to manifest conflicts and vice versa can be made out. But first and foremost, thepapers analysed cannot shed light on the quality of conflicts. The idea is that conflictsdevelop new qualities over time that are marked by “turning points”, as is expressed inphase models. In the beginning, for instance, a win-win might still be possible, whiletowards the end of the escalation spiral everybody follows the path to the abysstogether (Glasl, 2002). Also the number of parties to the conflict, their stability, theso-called migration of conflicts in the company, changing coalitions, inclusion andexclusion of persons in the course of a conflict, attempts at mediation and the likeremain in the dark. Granted, all these aspects might already exist in various populardescriptions, but there is no methodologically sound treatment that generatesan understanding of conflicts in FF appropriate to the potential complexity of thesubject as well as knowledge suitable for interventions (see the case study byFock, 1998).
If the intention is to capture the respective uniqueness of conflicts in FF, and not justto meet information requirements defined in advance and filtered by means ofhypotheses, the practicability of proceeding openly, relying on the communicationprocess between researcher and research object becomes apparent, which at the sametime makes it possible to thematise the nature of conflicts as a process. This is by nomeans to be seen as the allocation of the conflict topic to an explorative qualitativeresearch strategy and thus a preparatory step for empirical-quantitative research, butrather an independent, empirically grounded claim to establishing types, which makesit possible to combine the respective case-specific features (Lamnek, 2005) and toconflate them into conflict configurations. The idea is to understand those rules thatdelimit the room for action and define further options, and by which persons act inspecific situations. In this sense, such an analysis deals with the conditions for theinternal dynamics of conflicts in a social context (Froschauer and Lueger, 2009).
For establishing types, a heuristic framework can be useful that provides guidanceduring data collection and analysis as well as for the formation of types, but withouterecting all too strong content barriers. It is based on a differentiation between object(What is the object of the conflicts?), logic (How does the conflict proceed?) anddynamics (Why is the conflict changing?) (see also Frank and Lueger, 1997). The basicidea is that conflicts are a (specific) form of organisational order (Luhmann, 1984) andthis order can be reconstructed as a system of rules regarding its genesis, reproductionand transformation:
(1) Object(s) of conflicts: the main focus is on the content references of conflicts.This means opening up towards a multi-dimensional reconstruction of the
148
JFBM1,2
conflict object, which includes not just a content dimension, which in task andprocess conflicts may be in the foreground, but also a political dimension,which focuses on the interests and relationships between persons or groups ofpersons and shows references to relationship conflicts, as well as a culturaldimension, which rests on basic assumptions regarding the conflict objectand has a specific, describable conflict identity. The differing perceptions ofthese dimensions, their partly latent character (e.g. concerning the basicassumptions) and their variable “weighting” by the parties to the conflictprovide valuable hints for a diagnosis that also help for understandingthe logic.
(2) Logic(s) of conflicts: for analysing the development of conflicts not onlydescribing changes in objects is important, but also reconstructing thoserules that combine specific behaviour into structured patterns and so, onthe one hand, provide stable reproduction patterns of conflict orders or, onthe other hand, establish the room for changing the rules of behaviour, so thatdevelopment processes become possible that change the logic of a conflict.Within this process, decisions are made or they emerge from the conflictdynamics, which stabilise or transform the existing rules. The rules ofbehaviour inherent to these decisions are thus an important area ofreconstructing the conflict logic.
(3) Dynamics of conflicts: while the rule system that constitutes the conflict logicsteers types of behaviour and allocations of meaning, it only becomes effectiveonce it is combined with forces. These are conflict-immanent “energeticpotentials”, which result from contradiction (the negation of negation; Simon,2010) and, via the rule system, either contribute to the reproduction of anexisting conflict logic, or if there is a change in the rule system due to theconflict-immanent energetic potentials, lead to its transformation. In analysingthe conflict dynamics, therefore, those forces are focused upon that keep theconflict alive or change it.
The claim of this analytical framework is to be able to generate results that cannot beachieved through empirical-quantitative methods. What is more, the effect of conflictscan also be thematised from the point of view of its organisational reach and itsimportance for the “host” FF: not every task conflict regarding a small investmentdecision in which two family members also act out their relationship conflict is hencerelevant for success.
5.3 Theoretical anchoring of conflict researchIn general, it is noticeable that an explicit use of theories, especially conflict theories,can rarely be found in the publications analysed. So it does not come as a surprisethat there is hardly any discussion or definition of the term conflict. Rather, quicklyreference is made to types of conflicts, their causes and effects are discussed andexisting measuring instruments are made use of.
An obvious option for theoretical anchoring is systems theory (Luhmann, 1984,1995): if conflicts are seen as a social phenomenon, systems theory is of particularinterest, because as a universal theory it claims to explain all things social, whichincludes social conflicts that are based on communication and represent a “systemwithin the system”, with communication also including non-verbal contradictions
149
Conflicts infamily firms
(Lehnert, 2006). In this respect systems theory is an extremely useful theory for familybusiness research and especially research into conflicts in FF: not only does it make acontribution to explaining the relationship between family and company in themeaning of a structural coupling, but it also can be applied to analysing conflictsin FF for the explanation of “harmony”. Luhmann defines the term conflict as acommunicated contradiction: a conflict only occurs if expectations are communicatedand the non-acceptance of this communication is communicated back (Luhmann, 1984,p. 530). On the basis of this definition of conflict it is understandable that conflictscan easily constitute themselves as autonomous autopoietic systems in FF, ascompany-related communication of family members can be rejected particularlyeasily and permanently. In this manner, a conflict quickly attains structure andpermanence. Conflicts based on this systems theory are not automatically groundedin the social (Lehnert, 2006), but require negating communication in order tobecome conflicts. This makes sense particularly in the case of FF, as there aremany FF that – despite the conflict potential resulting from the structural couplingof family and company and its susceptibility to paradox conflicts (Von Schlippeand Kellermanns, 2008) – have a high degree of consensus in their company,to which particularly communication forums (e.g. in the form of a family council) cancontribute, in which not conflict but consensus comes out on top (Van der Merwe andEllis, 2007).
6. ConclusionFF are seen as particularly prone to conflicts. In particular relationship conflicts aresaid to have a negative effect that reduces performance, while the effect of task andprocess conflicts has not been clarified sufficiently.
Existing research results cover both the causes and effects of conflicts, as well asconflict management; the number of publications on all three topics, however, is small.Deriving evidence-based recommendations for FF from them thus seems impudent, atleast at this stage.
One option for future research on conflicts in FF would therefore be an increasedemphasis on replication studies. Still, due to the specific nature of the research objectalso qualitative studies should be increasingly utilised, which focus content, conflictlogic and dynamics that empirical-quantitative studies, even in the case of panelstudies could capture only with difficulty. In this context, a systems-theoreticalperspective could make use of the achievement potential of this theory and strengthenthe theoretical anchoring of conflict research.
In how far FF really face more and/or more intense conflicts, though, also requiresempirical evidence by means of an increased use of comparative studies with non-FF.Beehr et al. (1997), for example, report partly surprising results. The frequently heardexpectation that FF are particularly conflict-laden organisations, was not supported bythis study. Hence the assumption could be made that in many (conceptual) discussionsit is the higher conflict potential of FF that receives attention rather than actualconflicts.
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Corresponding authorHermann Frank can be contacted at: [email protected]
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