Group items tagged

The speed of change in competitive environments has prompted firms to develop processes directed at enabling organizational adaptation. This is captured by the concept of dynamic capabilities. We focus on a particular form of business organization, that is, the family firm. Specifically, we argue that knowledge integration—a dynamic capability through which family members' specialized knowledge is recombined—guides the evolution of capabilities. We present a general framework illustrating factors that affect knowledge integration in family firms. We conclude that only those family firms that are able to effectively integrate individual family members' specialized knowledge will be successful in dynamic markets by changing their capabilities over time.

With regard to our measure of performance (i.e., EPRP data), there is reason to question its accuracy in terms of documentation. Anecdotally, we were told that EPRP data does not necessarily reflect the true state of affairs in reference to guideline adherence. For example, performance may actually occur even though it is not formally documented (e.g., conducting depression screening, though neglecting to record this activity). Conversely, providers admitted to documenting performance that may not have actually occurred (e.g., offering smoking cessation counseling when none was actually given). Because our outcome data may have suffered from documentation errors, the actual effect of knowledge creation on guideline compliance may not have been realized. Also, statistical power was not sufficient to detect potentially meaningful effects. Saal and Knight (1996) recommend a 10:1 case to predictor ratio for estimating statistical power for collection of predictor data. A 31-item instrument would therefore require 310 cases or respondents to yield sufficient power, clearly more than we were able to acquire. Finally, this research must be quantitatively regarded as pilot work toward the development of a survey instrument. Indeed, survey development is an iterative process in which this project was the first iteration.

This article suggests that the egalitarian approach to organizational learning advocated by some theorists requires the development of a more inclusive learning vocabulary.

Our purpose is to challenge the dominant meaning of professional management in family business research and to suggest an extended understanding of the concept. Based on a review of selected literature on professional management and with insights from cultural theory and symbolic interactionism, we draw on interpretive case research to argue that professional family business management rests on two competencies, formal and cultural, of which only the former is explicitly recognized in current family business literature. We elaborate on the meanings and implications of cultural competence and argue that without it a CEO of a family business is likely to work less effectively, no matter how good the formal qualifications and irrespective of family membership.