Familiness

Abstract

The influence of the family on the business creates idiosyncratic firm characteristics and behaviors which impacts strategic orientation and shapes the resources and capabilities of the FF. Familiness can be positive as well as negative depending on whether the family influence enhances (distintictive familiness) or hinder (constrictive familiness) the competitive strength of the firm. From a structural point of view, the relevant issue is how family influence can impact both the quantity of available resources as well as particular aspects of different resources (financial, human, relational and organizational) available to the firm. From a process/dynamic perspective of familiness the focus is on the processes needed to create, increase and preserve those valuable resources. On these lines, the familiness construct has been recently associated with the concept of dynamic capabilities, which are necessary to allow the company to create, extend or modify ordinary capabilities through access to knowledge or its recombination.