CFB team awarded research funding from UK family business organisaiton

DCU Centre for Family Business has been awarded research funding from the Institute for Family Business, the UK's family business organisation. A team of researchers within the CFB will use the funding to investigate long term orientation in the context of UK family and non-family enterprises.

Long term orientation relates to three different concepts. The first, futurity, involves forecasting and making decisions based on the projected outcomes e.g., investment in machinery that will provide future payoff and returns. Second, continuity places value on long-lasting ambitions and legacy e.g., leveraging family reputation in the marketing or branding of the product. And third, perseverance is concerned with how current effort will create future value e.g., willing to invest large amounts of money and time into saving the business.

LTO is particularly apparent in family firms that apply longer term horizons in their decision making than their non-family counterparts. Through this research, the team will provide practical recommendations for stakeholders; including family business owners, non-family business owners, family members, shareholders, directors and employees. 

The research team comprises of eight members including Dr. Eric Clinton (DCU), Dr. Vanessa Diaz (University of the Balearic Islands), Professor Tom Lumpkin (University of Oklahoma), Professor Justin Craig (Northwestern University), Professor Clay Dibrell (University of Mississippi), Professor Maura McAdam (DCU), Professor Richard Harrison (University of Edinburgh), and Ms. Hazel Davis (DCU).

Principal investigator, Dr. Eric Clinton had the following to say:

“Long term orientation is a means of differentiation in family firms. Long term thinking often informs strategic decision making and is a unique advantage of these enterprises. We at the DCU Centre for Family Business are delighted to be leading this project which will further explore this phenomenon.”

The research, due for completion early next year, will be published as a practitioner report and presented at the IFB Annual Conference in June 2017.