Unpacking the opportunities for change within a family owned manufacturing sme : a design led innovation case study

This thesis explored how an Australian, family owned, manufacturing firm responded to a design led innovation approach as conducted by the action researcher. Specifically, it investigated the barriers and opportunities that arose within the firm when trying to affect change to drive innovation. In doing so, key opportunities were identified that could help the firm to integrate a design led approach and remain competitive within an increasingly accessible global marketplace.

Family representatives in family firms

Research Question/Issue: Family control in family firms can extend beyond the direct involvement of family members, but identifying these mechanisms is difficult in most markets. We utilize unique disclosures made by Taiwanese firms to examine the role played by family representatives in listed family firms. Family representatives are non-family members that represent the controlling family’s indirect shareholdings in the firm. We examine whether family representatives are used in the same manner as family members and whether they provide net benefits or costs to shareholders. Research Findings/Insights: In our sample of listed family firms, we find that omitting family representatives understates the influence of controlling families by 46 percent. We show that family representatives are associated with net costs to shareholders, but to a lesser extent than family members. We also find that controlling families use family members and family representatives differently. Family members are more involved in older family firms and in firms founded by the family. Family representatives are more involved in acquired and second generation family firms and in larger firms with more fixed assets. Theoretical/Academic Implications: We apply agency theory to the use of family representatives and show that family representatives are being used by controlling families to extend their influence within their firms, increasing agency costs to minority shareholders. Practitioner/Policy Implications: For policymakers, our analysis shows that disclosure of family member and representative relationships within firms is important and value-relevant to investors. Furthermore, our results suggest that firm performance could be improved by limiting the involvement of family members and family representatives in family firms.

Context-specific stressors, work-related social support and work-family conflict : a mediation study

Understanding the antecedents of work-family conflict is important as it allows organisations to effectively engage in work design for professional employees. This study examines the impact of sources of social support as antecedents of work-family conflict. The hypotheses were tests using Partial Least Squares modelling on a sample of 366 professional employees. The path model showed that context-specific stressors impacted positively on job demand, which led to higher levels of work-family conflict. Contrary to our expectation, non-work related social support did not have any statistical relationship with job demand and work-family conflict. In addition, individuals experiencing high job demands were found to obtain more social support from both work and non-work-related sources. Individuals with more work-related social support were less likely to have less work-family conflict. Surprisingly, non-work social support sources had no statistically significant relationship with work-family conflict.

Small firms, the paid maternity leave debate in Australia and the business case

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the management of maternity leave in small firms and particularly to explore the perceived costs and benefits of paid maternity leave (PML). PML is a universal right in some countries (i.e. the UK), but not in Australia where most private sector female employees only have access to 12 months unpaid maternity leave. It also aims to explore how the business case for (or against) PML is constructed in small firms. Design/methodology/approach The study was limited to smaller firms operating in the business services sector in the same regional area. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with eight employers and female employees in six of these firms. Analysis by theme was undertaken within and across interview transcripts. Findings Not one of these small firm employers offered PML and the cost of doing so was not considered to outweigh the benefits already realised through the (legislated) unpaid maternity leave scheme. In these firms maternity leave was managed in an informal way with notions of flexibility – give and take – characterising what happens. Originality/value The paper addresses the lack of research on access to family‐related leave policies in small firms. Employer and employee views of the issue are drawn upon, the latter not often being heard. The paper contributes to understanding the construction of the business case for a specific issue in smaller firms and human resource management from a resource‐based view more generally in smaller firms.

The impact of work-family programs on the relationship between gender diversity and performance

Work–family programs signal an employer's perspective on gender diversity to employees, and can influence whether the effects of diversity on performance are positive or negative. This article tests the interactive effects of nonmanagement gender diversity and work–family programs on productivity, and management gender diversity and work–family programs on financial performance. The predictions were tested in 198 Australian publicly listed organizations using primary (survey) and secondary (publicly available) data based on a two-year time lag between diversity and performance. The findings indicate that nonmanagement gender diversity leads to higher productivity in organizations with many work–family programs, and management gender diversity leads to lower financial performance in organizations with few work–family programs. The results suggest different business cases at nonmanagement and management levels for the adoption of work–family programs in gender-diverse organizations.

Shifting from production to purpose : facilitating design-led change in a small family-owned enterprise

This research was embedded as a Design-led Innovation catalyst within a family-owned small business, to explore the application of a design program to achieve organizational change. Based on the findings two new models for increasing design integration within an organisation were proposed, establishing a range of pre-requisites needed for a firm to progress. Struggling firms may leverage their use of design and strategy by embedding a catalyst in a new cross-disciplinary role providing the necessary internal assistance. The study demonstrated that even non-design or strategy-inclined family-owned SMEs could benefit from embarking on a design-led journey to boost their competitive preparedness.

Work and family : the perception of balance among female teachers in northern Malaysia

Women’s participation in paid employment has become a common scenario even in non-western developing countries. For example in Malaysia, the trend is growing although the traditional gender role remains strong in Malaysian society. Even though working, women are still expected to assume major responsibilities at home. Thus, as opposed to men, women in this society face the challenge to satisfactorily balance work and family. This study was carried out to explore how Malaysian women perceive the meaning of a balanced work-family life. Sampling women teachers, the interview findings revealed that work-family balance was mainly perceived in terms of an individual’s ‘ability to fulfill role obligation’ appropriately in both the work and family domains. A few participants also viewed balance in the context of role satisfaction and role interference. Overall, the results support the assumption in the literature that perceptions of work-family experience are not universal, rather, the construct of work-family balance is culture-specific.

Comparisons between youth of a parent with MS and a control group on adjustment, caregiving, attachment and family functioning

Few studies have examined the effects of parental MS on children, and those that have suffered from numerous methodological weaknesses, some of which are addressed in this study. This study investigated the effects of parental MS on children by comparing youth of a parent with MS to youth who have no family member with a serious health condition on adjustment outcomes, caregiving, attachment and family functioning. A questionnaire survey methodology was used. Measures included youth somatisation, health, pro-social behaviour, behavioural-social difficulties, caregiving, attachment and family functioning. A total of 126 youth of a parent with MS were recruited from MS Societies in Australia and, were matched one-to-one with youth who had no family member with a health condition drawn from a large community sample. Comparisons showed that youth of a parent with MS did not differ on any of the outcomes except for peer relationship problems: adolescent youth of a parent with MS reported lower peer relationship problems than control adolescents. Overall, results did not support prior research findings suggesting adverse impacts of parental MS on youth.

The effects of parental illness and other ill family members on youth caregiving experiences

Informed by a model of family role-redistribution derived from the Family Ecology Framework (Pedersen & Revenson, 2005), this study examined differences in two proposed psychological components of role-redistribution (youth caregiving experiences and responsibilities) between youth of a parent with illness and their peers from ‘healthy’ families controlling for the effects of whether a parent is ill or some other family member, illness type, and demographics. Based on self-report questionnaire data, four groups of Australian children were derived from a community sample of 2474youth (‘healthy’ family, n=1768; parental illness, n=336; other family member illness, n=254; both parental and other family member illness, n=116). The presence of any family member with a serious illness is associated with an intensification of youth caregiving experiences relative to peers from healthy families. This risk is elevated if the ill family member is a parent, if more illnesses are present, and by certain youth and family demographics, and especially by higher caregiving responsibilities. The presence of a family member, particularly a parent, with a serious medical condition has pervasive increased effects on youth caregiving compared to healthy families, and these effects are not fully accounted for by illness type, demographics or caregiving responsibilities.

Being Thrifty on a $100K Wage: Austerity in Family Finances

Understanding how families manage their finances represents a highly important research agenda given the recent economic climate of debt and uncertainty. To have a better understanding of the economics in domestic settings, it is very important to study the ways money and financial issues are collaboratively handled within families. Using an ethnographic approach, we studied the everyday financial practices of fifteen middle-income families. Our preliminary results show that there is a strong tendency to live frugally; that, people apply various and creative mechanisms to minimize their expenses and save money seemingly irrespectively of their income. To this end we highlight some implications for designing technologies to support household financial practices.

The effects of parental illness and other ill family members on the adjustment of children

Background This study addresses limitations of prior research that have used group comparison designs to test the effects of parental illness on youth. Purpose This study examined differences in adjustment between children of a parent with illness and peers from ‘healthy’ families controlling for the effects of whether a parent or non-parent family member is ill, illness type, demographics and caregiving. Methods Based on questionnaire data, groups were derived from a community sample of 2,474 youth (‘healthy’ family, n = 1768; parental illness, n = 336; other family member illness, n = 254; both parental and other family illness, n = 116). Results The presence of any family member with an illness is associated with greater risk of mental health difficulties for youth relative to peers from healthy families. This risk is elevated if the ill family member is a parent and has mental illness or substance misuse. Conclusions Serious health problems within a household adversely impact youth adjustment.

Transforming beyond self: fluidity of parent identity in family decision-making

When a household welcomes a new infant a transformation occurs whereby household routines, values and decisions change. This research explores how decision-making is influenced by fluctuating identity subjectivities. We explore longitudinally, using a family identity framework, how the transitioning between self, couple and family self-identities influences the decisions made regarding social issues, in this case infant feeding. Results indicate that decision-making during a period of transformation is not straightforward, relying on a multiplicity of identities that are constantly renegotiated and dependent on other influences. Decisions made conform to the identity-construct-of-the-moment, but are fluid and subject to change, such that pinpointing causal pathways is inappropriate. Implications for influencing the consumption of social behaviors for consumer researchers are one size does not fit all and require an in-depth understanding of the fluidity of decision-making. Consequently, social marketing strategies need to be tailored to constructed identities and flexible across time to remain influential.

On an unexpected career path? Using Wittgenstein’s Family Resemblance concept to determine the power of projects to transform project management careers

The power of projects has been demonstrated by the growth in their use across an increasing range of industries and workplaces in recent years. Not only has the number of people involved in project management increased, but the qualifications and backgrounds of those people have also broadened, with engineering no longer being the only path to project management (PM). Predicting the career trajectories in Project Management has become more important for both organisations employing project managers and project managers building career portfolios. Our research involved interviewing more than 75 project officers and project managers across a range of industries to explore their career journey. We used Wittgenstein’s family resemblance theory is to analyse the information from the transcripts to identify the extent to which the roles of participants fit with the commonly accepted definition of project management. Findings demonstrate diversity of project manager backgrounds and experiences and relational competencies across these backgrounds that form and shape PM careers.

A new family of multivariate heavy-tailed distributions with variable marginal amounts of tailweight: Application to robust clustering

We propose a family of multivariate heavy-tailed distributions that allow variable marginal amounts of tailweight. The originality comes from introducing multidimensional instead of univariate scale variables for the mixture of scaled Gaussian family of distributions. In contrast to most existing approaches, the derived distributions can account for a variety of shapes and have a simple tractable form with a closed-form probability density function whatever the dimension. We examine a number of properties of these distributions and illustrate them in the particular case of Pearson type VII and t tails. For these latter cases, we provide maximum likelihood estimation of the parameters and illustrate their modelling flexibility on simulated and real data clustering examples.

Family, feudalism and selfishness: Looking at Indonesian leadership through a wisdom lens

Using Social Practice Wisdom (SPW) as a conceptual lens, we shed new light on destructive, selfish leadership and its negative effects. Our study highlights the negative effects on followers of leaders' selfishness, as well as lack of empathy and inauthenticity. Our work also sheds light on new cross-cultural leadership challenges in emerging economies like Indonesia. Analysis reveals deep tensions between Indonesian leaders' tendency to position themselves in self-serving discourses of feudalism and family, and what young, western educated Indonesian professionals now expect of leaders. Selfish leadership discourse and lack of leader wisdom jeopardize Indonesia's economic development. We argue that wise dialogical communication enhances wise leadership.