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.

Priorities for future intensive care research in the UK: results of a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership.

This James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnership aimed to identify and prioritise unanswered questions about adult intensive care that are important to people who have been critically ill, their families, and the health professionals who care for them. Consensus techniques (modified Delphi and Nominal Group) were used to generate suggestions using online and postal surveys. Following verification and iterative editorial review, research topics were constructed from these suggestions. These topics were presented in a second online and postal survey for rating. A Nominal Group of 21 clinicians, patients and family representatives subsequently met to rank the most important research topics and produce a prioritised list. The project was coordinated by a representative Steering Group and independently overseen by the JLA. The initial survey and review of the literature generated over 1,300 suggestions. Preliminary editing and verification permitted us to encapsulate these suggestions within 151 research topics. Iterative review by members of the Steering Group produced 37 topic statements, subsequently rated by participants. Using the mode to determine importance, 19 topics were presented to the group from which a ‘top three’ intensive care research priorities were identified and a further nine topics were prioritised. By applying and adapting the JLA methodology to focus on an area of care rather than to a single disease, we have provided a means to ensure that patients, their families and professionals materially contribute to the prioritisation of intensive care research in the UK.

Management of the Tongass National Forest [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, on H.R. 1516, May 25 and 26, 1988.

"Serial no. 100-86."

A domestic priority [microform] : overcoming family poverty in America : hearing before the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, hearing held in Washington, DC, September 22, 1988.

CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 89 H961-13

Maternal, child health, and family planning services [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, February 25, 1988--healthy children, investing in the future; April 22, 1988--Title X of the Public Health Service Act (H.R. 3769).

"Serial no. 100-149."

Timber sales on national forests [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, first session, June 17 and 18, 1987.

"Serial no. 100-47."

Exchange certain national forest system lands in the Targhee National Forest [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, on H.R. 4028, April 16, 1988; Driggs, ID and April 27, 1988.

"Serial no. 100-88."

Middle Atlantic Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact to include the state of Ohio; land conveyance in Henderson, TN; and release a revisionary interest of the United States in certain land located in Oktibbeha County, MS [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, on H.R. 2756, H.R. 2835, and H.R. 4724, May 4, 1988 ... September 22, 1988 ....

"Serial no. 100-89."

Review of the drug law enforcement activities of the Forest Service; and the Omnibus Public Lands Act of 1987 [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, on H.R. 3680, July 12, 1988.

"Serial no. 100-92."

Review of reoffered timber sale appeals and fire salvage efforts in Oregon [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, April 13, 1988.

"Serial no. 100-87."

Review the effects of the 1987 forest fires and the recovery efforts in the national forests in California [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, May 20, 1988, Redding, CA.

"Serial no. 100-90."

Federal timber sales contracts extensions and terminations [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, on H.R. 4932 and H.R. 5012, October 15, 1981 and November 23, 1981, Washington, D.C., December 3, 1981, Roseburg, Oreg.

"Serial no. 97-QQ."

National Forest Management Act regulations [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, March 10, 1982.

"Serial no. 97-AAA."

Vegetation Management Reform Act of 1981 [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, on H.R. 2900, April 16, 1981, Eugene, Oreg.

"Serial no. 97-I."

Beginning Farmers Assistance Act [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy and the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, and Rural Development of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, on H.R. 2977, June 17 and 18, 1981.

"Serial no. 97-M."