Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, Vol. 11, No. 5
Abstract
The study attempted to assess the factors that are affecting business performance of small to medium sized family owned businesses in the Zimbabwean retail sector. The objective was to establish the effect of innovation, management skills, succession planning and corporate governance on family owned SMEs in Zimbabwe. The study sought to complement other previous studies that were carried out in other different contexts by producing evidence on the same phenomenon from a developing country context. The study adopted a quantitative approach. A self-administered survey was conducted to collect data that was analysed using descriptive, correlation and regression analyses. The results showed that the most significant factors affecting business performance in order of predictive power were innovation, proper management skills, succession planning and corporate governance. The findings have implications to family business managers and owners in Zimbabwe who are encouraged to be innovative, properly manage, practise succession planning and be guided by business morals in managing their enterprises. Whilst the factors ensuring the success of Small and Medium sized enterprises have extensively been examined, there is dearth of research on family business success factors especially in a developing country like Zimbabwe.
References
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Anderson, A. & C. Miller (2003). “Class matters”: Human and social capital in the entrepreneurial process. Journal of Socio Economics, 17–37.
Bammens, Y.,W. Voordeckers & A.Van Gils (2011). Boards of directors in family businesses: A literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 134–152.
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 99-120.
Baron, R., & G. Markman (2003). Beyond social capital: The role of entrepreneurs’ social competence in their financial success. Journal of Business Venturing, 41–60.
Brun de Pontet, S., C. Wrosch & M. Gagne (2007). An exploration of the generational differences in levels of control held among family businesses approaching succession. Family Business Review 20(4), 337 - 354.
Buddelmeyer, H., E. Jensen & E.Webster (2006). Innovation and the Determinants of Firm Survival. 2386 Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit Institute for the Study of Labor.
Cabrera- Suarez, K. (2005). Leadership transfer and the successor’s development in the family firm. The Leadership Quarterly 16,, 71–96.
Cefis, E. & O. Marsili (2005). A matter of life and death: innovation and firm survival. Industrial and Corporate Change 14, 1167 - 1192.
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Chrisman, J., J. Chua & R. Litz (2003). A unified systems perspective of family firm performance: An extension and integration. Journal of Business Venturing, 467-472.
Chrisman, J., J. Chua, & R. Litz (2004). Comparing the Agency Costs of Family and Non-Family Firms: Conceptual Issues and Exploratory Evidence. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 335-354.
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Chrisman, J., J. Chua & P. Sharma (2005). Trends and Directions in the Development of a Strategic Management Theory of the Family Firm. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 555-575.
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Dyck, B., M. Mauws, F. Starke & G. Mischke (2002). Passing the baton: The importance of sequence, timing, technique, and communication in executive succession. Journal of Business Venturing, 17, 143–162.
Gersick, K. & Feliu, N. (2013). Governing the family enterprise: Practices, performance, and research. The SAGE handbook of family business.
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Goel, S., I. Jussila & T. Ikaheimonen (2013). Governance in family firms: A review and research agenda. The SAGE handbook of family business.
Hermalin, B. & M. Weisbach (2003). Boards of Directors as an Endogenously Determined Institution: A Survey of the Economic Literature. Economic Policy Review.
Ibrahim, A., K.Soufani & J. Lam (2001). A study of succession in a family firm. Family Business Review, 245 - 248.
Jayashree, S. (2006). Some Views on Corporate Governance. Indira Management Review.
Lahat, L. & G.Menahem (2009). Causes and Remedies for Poverty: Perceptions among Local Elected Leaders in Israel. Journal of Poverty and Public Policy, 1029-1032.
Lerner, J., & J.Wulf (2007). Innovation and Incentives: Evidence from Corporate R&D. Journal of Review of Economics and Statistics, 634-644.
Maes, J., L.Sels & F. Roodhooft (2005). Modeling the link between management practices and financial performance. Evidence from small construction companies. Small Business Economics, 17–34.
Miller, D. & I. Le Breton- Miller (2006). Priorities, practices and strategies in successful and failing family businesses: An elaboration and test of the configuration perspective. Strategic Organization 4(4), 379-407.
North, D. (2005). Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. New York: Cambridge University Press.
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Peake, W. & M. Marshall (2011). Experience and entrepreneurship in industrialized countries: A meta- analysis. Southern Journal of Entrepreneurship, 49–70.
Perez, S. & J. Castillejo (2004). Life duration of manufacturing firms. Valencia: LINEEX Working Papers, 06/04.
Segarra, A. & M. Callejon (2002). New firms' survival and market turbulence: New evidence from Spain. Review of Industrial Organization, 20, 1-14.
Sharma, P. (2004). An Overview of the Field of Family Business Studies: Current Status and Directions for the Future. Family Business Review, 1-36.
Sharma, P. & A. Rao (2000). Successor attributes in Indian and Canadian family firms: A comparative study. Family Business Review 13(4), 313 - 330.
Sharma, P., J. Chrisman & J. Chua (2003). Predictors of satisfaction with the succession process in family firms. Journal of Business Venturing 18, 667 - 687.
Singh, M. & Davidson III. (2003). Agency Costs, Ownership Structure and Corporate Governance Mechanisms. Journal of Banking and Finance, 793-816.
Stafford, K.,V. Bhargava, S. Danes, G. Haynes & K. Brewton (2010). Factors associated with long-term survival of family businesses: Duration analysis. Journal of Family and Economics, 442–457.
Walker, E., & A. Brown (2004). What Success Factors are Important to Small Business Owners. International Small Business Journal, 577-594.
Walsh, G. (2011). Family Business Succession Managing the All-Important Family Component. Ottawa: KPMG.
Walsilczuk, J. (2000). Advantageous Competence of Owner/Managers to Grow the Firm in Poland. Journal of Small Business Management.
Ward, J.L. (2000). Reflection on Indian Family Business Groups. Family Business Review, Vol 13, 271- 278.
Watson, J., & Everett, J. (1999). Small Business Failure Rates: Choice of Definition and Industry Effects. International Small Business Journal.
West, M.,C. Borrill, J.Dawson, F. Brodbeck, D. Shapiro & B. Haward (2003). Leadership clarity and team innovation in health care. The Leadership Quarterly 14(4–5), 393–410.
Anderson, A. & C. Miller (2003). “Class matters”: Human and social capital in the entrepreneurial process. Journal of Socio Economics, 17–37.
Bammens, Y.,W. Voordeckers & A.Van Gils (2011). Boards of directors in family businesses: A literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 134–152.
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 99-120.
Baron, R., & G. Markman (2003). Beyond social capital: The role of entrepreneurs’ social competence in their financial success. Journal of Business Venturing, 41–60.
Brun de Pontet, S., C. Wrosch & M. Gagne (2007). An exploration of the generational differences in levels of control held among family businesses approaching succession. Family Business Review 20(4), 337 - 354.
Buddelmeyer, H., E. Jensen & E.Webster (2006). Innovation and the Determinants of Firm Survival. 2386 Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit Institute for the Study of Labor.
Cabrera- Suarez, K. (2005). Leadership transfer and the successor’s development in the family firm. The Leadership Quarterly 16,, 71–96.
Cefis, E. & O. Marsili (2005). A matter of life and death: innovation and firm survival. Industrial and Corporate Change 14, 1167 - 1192.
Chami, R. (2001). What is different about family businesses? International Monetary Fund'' Working Paper WP/01/70. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2001/wp0170.pdf.
Chrisman, J., J. Chua & R. Litz (2003). A unified systems perspective of family firm performance: An extension and integration. Journal of Business Venturing, 467-472.
Chrisman, J., J. Chua, & R. Litz (2004). Comparing the Agency Costs of Family and Non-Family Firms: Conceptual Issues and Exploratory Evidence. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 335-354.
Chrisman, J., J. Chua, & P. Sharma (2003). Current Trends and Future directions in Family Business Management Studies: Toward a theory of the Family Firm. Cole Whiteman Paper Series.
Chrisman, J., J. Chua & P. Sharma (2005). Trends and Directions in the Development of a Strategic Management Theory of the Family Firm. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 555-575.
Colli, A. (2003). Family Firms in Comparative Perspectives. History of Family Business, 1850 - 2000.
De Visscher, F. (2004). Balancing capital, liquidity and control. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www.devisscher.com/.
Decron, S., & P. Krishnan (2009). Decron, S., P. Krishnan. Vulnerability, Seasonality and Poverty in Ethiopia. Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, 23-35.
Drake, A. (2009). Understanding Family Business: A Practical Guide for the Next Generation. Institute of Family Business Research.
Dyck, B., M. Mauws, F. Starke & G. Mischke (2002). Passing the baton: The importance of sequence, timing, technique, and communication in executive succession. Journal of Business Venturing, 17, 143–162.
Gersick, K. & Feliu, N. (2013). Governing the family enterprise: Practices, performance, and research. The SAGE handbook of family business.
Gilding, M. (2010). Reflexivity over and above convention: The new orthodoxy in the sociology of personal life, formerly sociology of the family. The British Journal of Sociology, 757-777.
Goel, S., I. Jussila & T. Ikaheimonen (2013). Governance in family firms: A review and research agenda. The SAGE handbook of family business.
Hermalin, B. & M. Weisbach (2003). Boards of Directors as an Endogenously Determined Institution: A Survey of the Economic Literature. Economic Policy Review.
Ibrahim, A., K.Soufani & J. Lam (2001). A study of succession in a family firm. Family Business Review, 245 - 248.
Jayashree, S. (2006). Some Views on Corporate Governance. Indira Management Review.
Lahat, L. & G.Menahem (2009). Causes and Remedies for Poverty: Perceptions among Local Elected Leaders in Israel. Journal of Poverty and Public Policy, 1029-1032.
Lerner, J., & J.Wulf (2007). Innovation and Incentives: Evidence from Corporate R&D. Journal of Review of Economics and Statistics, 634-644.
Maes, J., L.Sels & F. Roodhooft (2005). Modeling the link between management practices and financial performance. Evidence from small construction companies. Small Business Economics, 17–34.
Miller, D. & I. Le Breton- Miller (2006). Priorities, practices and strategies in successful and failing family businesses: An elaboration and test of the configuration perspective. Strategic Organization 4(4), 379-407.
North, D. (2005). Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Ortega - Argiles, R. & R. Moreno (2005). Firm competitive strategies and the likelihood of survival. The Spanish case, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group. Jena: Max Planck Institute of Economics.
Peake, W. & M. Marshall (2011). Experience and entrepreneurship in industrialized countries: A meta- analysis. Southern Journal of Entrepreneurship, 49–70.
Perez, S. & J. Castillejo (2004). Life duration of manufacturing firms. Valencia: LINEEX Working Papers, 06/04.
Segarra, A. & M. Callejon (2002). New firms' survival and market turbulence: New evidence from Spain. Review of Industrial Organization, 20, 1-14.
Sharma, P. (2004). An Overview of the Field of Family Business Studies: Current Status and Directions for the Future. Family Business Review, 1-36.
Sharma, P. & A. Rao (2000). Successor attributes in Indian and Canadian family firms: A comparative study. Family Business Review 13(4), 313 - 330.
Sharma, P., J. Chrisman & J. Chua (2003). Predictors of satisfaction with the succession process in family firms. Journal of Business Venturing 18, 667 - 687.
Singh, M. & Davidson III. (2003). Agency Costs, Ownership Structure and Corporate Governance Mechanisms. Journal of Banking and Finance, 793-816.
Stafford, K.,V. Bhargava, S. Danes, G. Haynes & K. Brewton (2010). Factors associated with long-term survival of family businesses: Duration analysis. Journal of Family and Economics, 442–457.
Walker, E., & A. Brown (2004). What Success Factors are Important to Small Business Owners. International Small Business Journal, 577-594.
Walsh, G. (2011). Family Business Succession Managing the All-Important Family Component. Ottawa: KPMG.
Walsilczuk, J. (2000). Advantageous Competence of Owner/Managers to Grow the Firm in Poland. Journal of Small Business Management.
Ward, J.L. (2000). Reflection on Indian Family Business Groups. Family Business Review, Vol 13, 271- 278.
Watson, J., & Everett, J. (1999). Small Business Failure Rates: Choice of Definition and Industry Effects. International Small Business Journal.
West, M.,C. Borrill, J.Dawson, F. Brodbeck, D. Shapiro & B. Haward (2003). Leadership clarity and team innovation in health care. The Leadership Quarterly 14(4–5), 393–410.
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Published
2021-05-28
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Collective Authors. (2021). Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, Vol. 11, No. 5: Array. Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, 11(5). Retrieved from https://dj.univ-danubius.ro/index.php/AUDOE/article/view/1098
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