IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i6p1715-d215932.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Romanian Family Businesses Philosophy for Performance and Sustainability

Author

Listed:
  • Camelia-Daniela Hategan

    (Department of Accounting and Audit, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, 16 Pestalozzi Street, 300115 Timisoara, Romania)

  • Ruxandra-Ioana Curea-Pitorac

    (Department of Economics and Modeling, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, 16 Pestalozzi Street, 300115 Timisoara, Romania)

  • Vasile-Petru Hategan

    (Institute for Social and Political Research, Faculty of Political Sciences, Philosophy and Communication Studies, West University of Timisoara, 4 V. Parvan Blvd, 300223 Timisoara, Romania)

Abstract

Family businesses represent a large segment of private companies and contribute greatly to economic growth. In this context, the objectives of this paper are to identify the characteristics of Romanian family businesses, starting from their involvement and governance mechanisms, and also to investigate if these specific items allow them to act towards creating sustainable businesses. In order to achieve these objectives, we have used qualitative and quantitative research, consisting of two phases: (a) we have analyzed the reports regarding the Romanian family businesses, in order to identify their characteristics; and (b) we have empirically tested if the characteristics are correlated with company financial performance and social responsibility. The results show that Romanian family businesses are aware of the changes that may appear and that they have started to implement internal processes oriented towards sustainability. Also, the main family involvements in business were ownership, governance, management and succession, which have a correlation with the performance of their company.

Suggested Citation

  • Camelia-Daniela Hategan & Ruxandra-Ioana Curea-Pitorac & Vasile-Petru Hategan, 2019. "The Romanian Family Businesses Philosophy for Performance and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-22, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:6:p:1715-:d:215932
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/6/1715/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/6/1715/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark A. Fox & Robert T. Hamilton, 1994. "Ownership And Diversification: Agency Theory Or Stewardship Theory," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 69-81, January.
    2. Pedro Núñez-Cacho & Valentín Molina-Moreno & Francisco A. Corpas-Iglesias & Francisco J. Cortés-García, 2018. "Family Businesses Transitioning to a Circular Economy Model: The Case of “Mercadona”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-19, February.
    3. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    4. Eduard Gabriel CEPTUREANU, 2015. "Innovation And Change Management In Romanian Smes Family Business," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 9(1), pages 314-320, November.
    5. Brenes, Esteban R. & Madrigal, Kryssia & Requena, Bernardo, 2011. "Corporate governance and family business performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 280-285, March.
    6. Ioan S. FOTEA & S. FOTEA & S. VADUVA & I. POP, 2012. "Fostering entrepreneurial learning in family business through a community of practice approach - Case study of Romanian family business," Economia Marche / Journal of Applied Economics, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I) / Fondazione Aristide Merloni (I), vol. 0(2), pages 25-38, December.
    7. Weng, Pei-Shih & Chen, Wan-Yi, 2017. "Doing good or choosing well? Corporate reputation, CEO reputation, and corporate financial performance," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 223-240.
    8. Garcia-Castro, Roberto & Aguilera, Ruth V., 2014. "Family involvement in business and financial performance: A set-theoretic cross-national inquiry," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 85-96.
    9. Danny Miller & Isabelle Le Breton‐Miller & Barry Scholnick, 2008. "Stewardship vs. Stagnation: An Empirical Comparison of Small Family and Non‐Family Businesses," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 51-78, January.
    10. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    11. Jess H. Chua & James J. Chrisman & Pramodita Sharma, 1999. "Defining the Family Business by Behavior," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 23(4), pages 19-39, July.
    12. James S. Ang & Rebel A. Cole & James Wuh Lin, 2000. "Agency Costs and Ownership Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 81-106, February.
    13. Fred Neubauer & Alden G. Lank, 1998. "The Family Business," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-14465-5, October.
    14. Miralles-Marcelo, José Luis & Miralles-Quirós, Maria del Mar & Lisboa, Inês, 2014. "The impact of family control on firm performance: Evidence from Portugal and Spain," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 156-168.
    15. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:1301-1327 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Pramodita Sharma, 2005. "Trends and Directions in the Development of a Strategic Management Theory of the Family Firm," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(5), pages 555-575, September.
    17. Maury, Benjamin, 2006. "Family ownership and firm performance: Empirical evidence from Western European corporations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 321-341, January.
    18. Michael L. Lemmon & Michael R. Roberts & Jaime F. Zender, 2008. "Back to the Beginning: Persistence and the Cross‐Section of Corporate Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1575-1608, August.
    19. Mohammed Oudah & Fauzia Jabeen & Christopher Dixon, 2018. "Determinants Linked to Family Business Sustainability in the UAE: An AHP Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-23, January.
    20. Lex Donaldson & James H. Davis, 1991. "Stewardship Theory or Agency Theory: CEO Governance and Shareholder Returns," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 16(1), pages 49-64, June.
    21. Giovanna Gavana & Pietro Gottardo & Anna Maria Moisello, 2017. "The effect of equity and bond issues on sustainability disclosure. Family vs non-family Italian firms," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(1), pages 126-142, March.
    22. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb, 2003. "Founding‐Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1301-1328, June.
    23. Mazzi, Chiara, 2011. "Family business and financial performance: Current state of knowledge and future research challenges," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 166-181.
    24. Roberto Barontini & Lorenzo Caprio, 2006. "The Effect of Family Control on Firm Value and Performance: Evidence from Continental Europe," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 12(5), pages 689-723, November.
    25. Matthew W. Rutherford & Donald F. Kuratko & Daniel T. Holt, 2008. "Examining the Link between “Familiness†and Performance: Can the F–PEC Untangle the Family Business Theory Jungle?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(6), pages 1089-1109, November.
    26. Habbershon, Timothy G. & Williams, Mary & MacMillan, Ian C., 2003. "A unified systems perspective of family firm performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 451-465, July.
    27. Annalisa Prencipe & Sasson Bar-Yosef & Henri C. Dekker, 2014. "Accounting Research in Family Firms: Theoretical and Empirical Challenges," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 361-385, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiaolin Li & Weian Li & Yaowei Zhang, 2020. "Family Control, Political Connection, and Corporate Green Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, August.
    2. Camelia-Daniela Hategan & Ruxandra-Ioana Pitorac & Nicoleta-Daniela Milu, 2021. "Assessment of the Mandatory Non-Financial Reporting of Romanian Companies in the Circular Economy Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Yanan Li, 2022. "The Influence of Family Governance on the Value of Chinese Family Businesses: Signal Transmission Effect of Financial Performance," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-22, March.
    4. Iman Harymawan & Mohammad Nasih & Muhammad Madyan & Diarany Sucahyati, 2019. "The Role of Political Connections on Family Firms’ Performance: Evidence from Indonesia," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-14, September.
    5. Camelia-Daniela Hategan & Ruxandra-Ioana Curea-Pitorac & Vasile-Petru Hategan, 2020. "Responsible Communication of Romanian Companies for Ensuring Public Health in a COVID-19 Pandemic Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-16, November.
    6. Adriana Cioca & Kassam Wehbe & Delia Popescu & Constanta Popescu, 2020. "The Main Drivers for Sustainable Decisions in a Family Business That Impact the Company’s Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-14, October.
    7. Vladislav ROTARU & Laurentiu MIHAI & Radu OGARCA, 2020. "SUCCESION MANAGEMENT IN ROMANIAN SMEs," Management and Marketing Journal, University of Craiova, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 0(2), pages 135-150, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Audretsch, David B. & Hülsbeck, Marcel & Lehmann, Erik E., 2013. "Families as active monitors of firm performance," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 118-130.
    2. Suveera Gill & Parmjit Kaur, 2015. "Family Involvement in Business and Financial Performance: A Panel Data Analysis," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 40(4), pages 395-420, December.
    3. Mazzi, Chiara, 2011. "Family business and financial performance: Current state of knowledge and future research challenges," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 166-181.
    4. Erbetta, Fabrizio & Menozzi, Anna & Corbetta, Guido & Fraquelli, Giovanni, 2013. "Assessing family firm performance using frontier analysis techniques: Evidence from Italian manufacturing industries," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 106-117.
    5. Suess, Julia, 2014. "Family governance – Literature review and the development of a conceptual model," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 138-155.
    6. Hiebl, Martin R.W., 2013. "Bean counter or strategist? Differences in the role of the CFO in family and non-family businesses," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 147-161.
    7. Audretsch, David B. & Hülsbeck, Marcel & Lehmann, Erik E., 2010. "The benefits of family ownership, control and management on financial performance of firms," UO Working Papers 05-10, University of Augsburg, Chair of Management and Organization.
    8. Franco Ernesto Rubino & Paolo Tenuta & Domenico Rocco Cambrea, 2017. "Board characteristics effects on performance in family and non-family business: a multi-theoretical approach," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(3), pages 623-658, September.
    9. Marco Cucculelli & Lidia Mannarino & Valeria Pupo & Fernanda Ricotta, 2014. "Owner‐Management, Firm Age, and Productivity in Italian Family Firms," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(2), pages 325-343, April.
    10. Godlewski, Christophe J. & Nhung Le, Hong, 2024. "Family ties and firm performance empirical evidence from East Asia," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 150-166.
    11. De Massis, Alfredo & Kotlar, Josip & Campopiano, Giovanna & Cassia, Lucio, 2013. "Dispersion of family ownership and the performance of small-to-medium size private family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 166-175.
    12. Weiping Liu & Haibin Yang & Guangxi Zhang, 2012. "Does family business excel in firm performance? An institution-based view," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 965-987, December.
    13. James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Allison W. Pearson & Tim Barnett, 2012. "Family Involvement, Family Influence, and Family–Centered Non–Economic Goals in Small Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(2), pages 267-293, March.
    14. Arosa, Blanca & Iturralde, Txomin & Maseda, Amaia, 2010. "Ownership structure and firm performance in non-listed firms: Evidence from Spain," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 88-96, June.
    15. Astrachan, Joseph H., 2010. "Strategy in family business: Toward a multidimensional research agenda," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 6-14, March.
    16. Paolo Roffia & Virginia Simón-Moya & Javier Sendra García, 2022. "Board of director attributes: effects on financial performance in SMEs," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 1141-1172, September.
    17. Garcia-Castro, Roberto & Aguilera, Ruth V., 2014. "Family involvement in business and financial performance: A set-theoretic cross-national inquiry," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 85-96.
    18. Barros, Ismael & Hernangómez, Juan & Martin-Cruz, Natalia, 2016. "A theoretical model of strategic management of family firms. A dynamic capabilities approach," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 149-159.
    19. Esra Memili & Kaustav Misra, 2015. "Corporate Governance Provisions, Family Involvement, and Firm Performance in Publicly Traded Family Firms," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-36, July.
    20. Alfonso A. Rojo Ramírez & Maria J. Martínez Romero, 2018. "Required and obtained equity returns in privately held businesses: the impact of family nature—evidence before and after the global economic crisis," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 771-801, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:6:p:1715-:d:215932. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.