Factors Associated with Long-Term Survival of Family Businesses: Duration Analysis

This study identified factors influencing family business survival using National Family Business Panel and Spatial Hazard Events and Losses data. Sustainable Family Business Theory guided the use of a parametric duration model of long-term survival. Community characteristics, family achievements, family processes during change, business and owner characteristics, and business processes during stability affected long-term survival. Economic vulnerability of rural counties, family income from business, hiring temporary help, business size, viewing business as a way of life, and owner experience were associated with increased duration of business survival. Being home-based, a female owner, and customer-focused were associated with decreased duration of survival. Some family processes and achievements increased the duration of business survival; none decreased it.     

Work Roles, Management and Perceived Well-being for Married Women within Family Businesses

The study uses the National Family Business Survey and is grounded in the systemic Sustainable Family Business Model. It investigated the relationship between management activity of married women within family businesses and perceived well-being controlling for work roles, family context, personal and financial resources. Statistical analyses indicated that successfully achieving the most important family goal was positively related to management activity. Low-income women performed more management than did those with other income levels. Successfully achieving family goals, having lower education, less competition between family and business resources, no family cash flow problems, and higher management activity contributed to positive perceived well-being. Well-being increased at a decreasing rate as income increased.This study reports results from the Cooperative Regional Research Project, NE-167R, ‘Family Businesses: Interaction in Work and Family Spheres,’ partially supported by the Cooperative States Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Experiment Stations at University of Hawaii at Manoa, University of Illinois, Purdue University (Indiana), Iowa State University, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, Montana State University, University of Nebraska, Cornell University (New York), North Dakota State University, The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Texas A & M University, Utah State University, The University of Vermont, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (for The University of Manitoba).     

The Use of Owner Resources in Small and Family Owned Businesses: Literature Review and Future Research Directions

This paper integrates relevant literature and the Sustainable Family Business Model regarding interchange of financial resources between family and business. Two distinct literatures on the use of owner resources in small businesses are examined: the intermingling of business and household resources from the family firm literature and financial bootstrapping studies from the small business finance literature. What has not been addressed in both literatures about the use of owner resources is discussed and the risks that owner resource bootstrapping and intermingling may place on the household and the business are considered. Recommendations and propositions for future research are suggested. To fully understand the makeup and success of household financial portfolios and family businesses, it is important to understand the use of owner resources in a holistic manner.     

Adjustment Strategies in the Family Business: Implications of Gender and Management Role

Four gender/role categories are compared to ascertain the influence that gender and management roles and related characteristics have on adjustment strategies selected during hectic times in the family or the family business. The five adjustment strategies involve reallocation of family or business tasks, intertwining tasks, using volunteer help and hiring outside help. Data are from the 1997 National Family Business Study (n = 673). Findings from multiple regression analysis indicate that, with the exception of intertwining tasks, there are not significant differences between men and women on adjustment strategies when controlling for family and business demands and human resources. Single-role managers are more likely to reallocate family resources to the business than are two-role managers, regardless of gender.     

Migration,Livelihood Strategies,and Agricultural Outcomes: A Gender Study in Rural China

In this study we examine whether the gender composition of migrants from rural households affects household economic strategies and agricultural productivity, which is the fundamental economic activity for rural Chinese. Using data from the 2010 and 2012 Chinese Family Panel Studies, this study treats households as the unit of analysis. Our results show that households with migrants are less likely to engage in agricultural activities or operate small businesses than households with no migrants. However, households with female migrants are less likely to engage in agricultural activities to a greater extent than those with male migrants, whereas the latter pose an obstacle to running small family businesses. This suggests that women may have to shoulder the burden of agricultural work when men migrate, whereas having male migrants from the households hampers households from engaging in local nonagricultural activities. Finally, although having male migrants who have left does not significantly discourage households from continuing agricultural activities, it does reduce agricultural productivity.     

Family Structure,Family Processes,and Adolescent Smoking and Drinking

This study examined whether family structure was associated with adolescent risk behaviors, including smoking and drinking. Family living arrangements have become increasingly diverse, yet research on adolescent risk behaviors has typically relied on measures of family structure that do not adequately capture this diversity. Data from the 1994–1995 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to conduct logistic regression analyses that revealed adolescents in two biological married parent families were least likely to smoke or drink, whereas adolescents in cohabiting stepfamilies were most likely. Those in single‐mother families and married stepfamilies were in between. Maternal socialization was related to reduced odds of smoking and drinking. Maternal modeling was positively associated with smoking and drinking. Family structure is indicative of distinct family processes that are linked to risky behaviors among adolescents.     

Factors Associated with Business and Family Success: A Comparison of Single Manager and Dual Manager Family Business Households

The purposes of this article are: (1) to identify internal/micro-level factors associated with perception of family and business success, and (2) to compare single manager and dual manager family business households with respect to factors that contribute to their perceptions of business and family success. The data are from a nationally representative sample of 673 family business households. Using a two-stage least squares regression procedure, the results show a unique relationship between family success and business success. Family success positively impacts business success, but not vice versa, and predictors of family and business success vary widely between household types.     

Family Members' Reports of Non-Staff Abuse in Michigan Nursing Homes

Recent research showed that mistreatment of nursing home residents by other residents may be highly prevalent. The present study examined the issue from family members' perspectives. The data came from the 2005 and 2007 random-digit dial telephone surveys of Michigan households with a family member in long-term care. Based on family members' reports, about 10% of nursing home residents aged 60 and over were abused by non-staff in nursing homes (e.g., other residents and visitors) during the past 12 months. Family members were more likely to report non-staff abuse when the nursing home residents were younger, were female, had behavior problems, and had greater level of physical functioning. Family members who reported staff abuse were four times more likely to also report non-staff abuse.     

The Family Outreach Model: Tools for Engaging and Working With Families in Distress

The purpose of this article is to present a family intervention model to family service providers that builds on previous research in areas of social support and family problem solving. The Family Outreach Model provides a set of strategies for engaging and working with families in five phases of family coping at different points in time in the family's life. The strategies reflect intentional choices by family service providers about both collaborative and directive styles of therapeutic alliance and highlights ways to determine which style best fits with what specific families want and need, depending on the manner of family coping that it is using. Implications for programs and public policy are presented.     

Immigration and the Family Circumstances of Mexican‐Origin Children: A Binational Longitudinal Analysis

Using data from the birth cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (n = 1,200) and the Mexican Family Life Survey (n = 1,013), this study investigated the living arrangements of Mexican‐origin preschool children. The analysis examined children's family circumstances in both sending and receiving countries, used longitudinal data to capture family transitions, and considered the intersection between nuclear and extended family structures. Between ages 0–1 and 4–5, Mexican children of immigrants experienced significantly more family instability than children in Mexico. They were more likely to transition from 2‐parent to single‐parent families and from extended family households to simple households. There were fewer differences between U.S. children with immigrant versus native parents, but the higher level of single parenthood among children of natives at ages 0–1 and the greater share making transitions from a 2‐parent to a single‐parent family suggest ongoing erosion of children's family support across generations in the United States.     

Poverty in Nonmetropolitan America: Impacts of Industrial,Employment, and Family Structure Variables

Abstract Poverty is more extensive and more severe in nonmetropolitan areas than in metropolitan areas. Here we maintain that the extensive industrial and economic transformations occurring in rural areas have resulted in patterns contributing to these high poverty levels. These transformations, which include an increase in service‐sector employment, in many ways mirror the economic changes that have occurred in the inner city. We maintain that Wilson's model of the inner‐city underclass can be useful in understanding some poverty trends in nonmetropolitan areas. To test the Wilson model, we analyze 1990 census data. The data generally support the model and indicate that the industrial transformation of rural areas leads to changes in the gender structure of the labor force, and to a more unbalanced sex ratio. These changes, in turn, result in adjustments to family structure, including an increase in the percentage of female‐headed households. This process results in higher poverty levels.     

Farm Business-Owning Couples: Interrelationships among Business Tensions,Relationship Conflict Quality,and Spousal Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among business tensions, relationship conflict quality, and satisfaction with spouse for 206 farm business-owning couples. The Sustainable Family Business Model and the Family FIRO (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation) model guided the path analysis. For both husbands and wives, locus of control was negatively related to business tensions; decision involvement discrepancy was positively related to relationship conflict quality; and business tensions were negatively related to relationship conflict quality. For husbands, relationship conflict quality was positively related to satisfaction with spouse; for wives, business tensions were negatively related to satisfaction with business-owning spouse. This material is based on work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, US Department of Agriculture under Agreement No. 95-37401-1820. Any opinion, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the US Department of Agriculture.     

Gender Differences in Perceived Business Success and Profit Growth Among Family Business Managers

Using data from the 1997–2000 National Family Business Surveys (NFBS), this study investigated the effect of gender on business success and profit growth among family businesses. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) results indicate that all else being equal, female managers perceived their businesses as more successful than male managers, and they reported more profit growth between 1996 and 1999 than male managers. The results of the dummy variable interaction approach also show that a differential response existed in profit growth over time between female and male managers in relation to health status, business liabilities, business size, and whether the business was home-based. This study concludes that there are many distinct differences between male and female managers in business performance.     

Family systems functioning,family health roles,and utilization of physical health services

The purpose of the study reported here is to determine the relationship between family systems functioning, family health role, and family utilization of health services. The research is based in the Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems (Olson, Sprenkle, & Russel, 1979). Family functioning variables include family level of cohesion, family adaptability, and family type, as measured by FACES II. Family health role (i.e., leadership role and acceptance of sick role) and utilization of health services are measured by scales of the investigator-developed Family Health Questionnaire. The sample consists of 140 parents of 70 families, composed of two parents with children under 25 years of age living at home. Analysis reveals significant relationships between the family level of adaptability and acceptance of the sick role, in conjunction with significant gender and gender interaction effects. There are no significant differences between family cohesion levels or family typologies with the health variables.Su An Arnn Phipps is an Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing Graduate Program, Tulsa, 700 N. Greenwood, Tulsa, OK 74106. Her research interests include family systems functioning and family physical health, couples' infertility experience, and fathers' role(s) in family health. She received her Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University in Family Relations and Child Development.     

Childhood Family Structure and Early Family Formation in East and West Germany

This study investigated the association between childhood living arrangements and early family formation in Germany. Drawing on persisting sociocultural differences between East and West Germany, the author examined whether the association of childhood family structure and the transition to adulthood varies in different societal contexts. Data from the German Family Panel showed that children from nontraditional family structures experience important demographic transitions faster than children who were raised by both biological parents. The study revealed considerable context‐specific differences that point to the long‐term consequences of the postwar separation of East and West Germany. Family structure was less predictive for early family formation in the postcommunist East. In addition, this study adds to a growing body of literature indicating that even seemingly similar family‐structure effects might bear very different implications—for example, for status attainment and the reproduction of inequality—depending on the sociocultural context.     

Family use of community services in economically stressed rural counties

This study focuses on stresses, coping strategies, and satisfactions of respondents in eight economically distressed rural counties in the state of Washington. An adult sample is divided into two groups: those who indicate specific economic problems and/or are unemployed (n=236) and those who are still employed and do not report specific economic stresses (n=190). Although those with specific economic problems show higher levels of perceived stress and financial dissatisfaction, there are no differences reported in over-all family satisfaction. Results point to the importance of providing specific employment-related community services to family members in these types of communities.Dorothy Z. Price, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164-2010. Her research interests include decision making and consumer behavior. She received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University.Lonnie J. Dunlap, M.A., is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2010. Her research interests include work and family interactions and career development.     

Too close and too rigid: applying the Circumplex Model of Family Systems to first-generation family firms

Despite growing research interest in family businesses, little is known about the characteristics of the families engaging in them. The present paper uses Olson's (Journal of Psychotherapy & the Family, 1988, 4(12), 7-49; Journal of Family Therapy, 2000, 22, 144-167) Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems to look at first-generation family firms. We describe existing typologies of family businesses and discuss similarities between the characteristics of first-generation family firms and the rigidly enmeshed family type described in the Circumplex Model. The Steinberg family business (Gibbon & Hadekel (1990) Steinberg: The breakup of a family empire. ON, Canada: MacMillan) serves to illustrate the difficulties of rigidly enmeshed first-generation family firms. Implications for understanding troubled family businesses are discussed together with guidelines for the assessment of a family business in crisis and for intervention: enhancing open communication; allowing for more flexible leadership style, roles, and rules; and maintaining a balance between togetherness and separateness.     

家庭社会资本对大学生农村就业意愿的影响

家庭是影响大学生农村就业的一个重要因素,因而家庭社会资本与大学生农村就业行为有密切的关系。家庭社会资本对大学生去农村的就业意愿、最低工资价位和职业选择的影响显著。母亲的受教育程度、家庭年收入越高,大学生去农村的就业意愿越高,大学生去农村的最低心理工资价位越高;父母的受教育程度越高,大学生去农村更愿意选择从政。     

家庭禀赋、家庭决策与农村迁移劳动力回流

在城乡收入差距持续扩大的情况下,中国"民工潮"和"民工回流"、"民工荒"并存的现象,一直是困扰国内外学术界的难题。本文根据湖北和河南两省的农户抽样调查数据,建立农村迁移劳动力回流决策的影响因素模型,从家庭决策的视角分析了家庭禀赋对迁移劳动力回流的影响及其作用机制。数据分析结果表明:家庭人力资本越丰富,劳动力越容易选择留在农村就业或者回流农村,但是家庭人力资本值达到一定程度后,农村劳动力又倾向于外出就业。家庭社会资本有助于迁移劳动力外出务工,但是随着家庭社会资本值的增加,那些家庭社会资本更为丰富的家庭的劳动力则更愿意回流家乡就业。丰富的家庭经济资本同时可以产生收入效应和替代效应,家庭经济资本可以为外出务工提供物质支持,但是丰富的家庭经济资本又会促使迁移劳动力回流农村,总体来说后者更为明显。     

The Role of Values and Unity in Family Businesses

This study tests the application of an ecosystems perspective on family businesses. Specific focuses are given to values, resources and unity within family businesses. Two separate samples are examined, the American Family Business Survey and a multilevel sample. Results from this study support the ecosystems perspective. Family businesses are shown to vary by their value for family growth in comparison to business growth. This value variation across family businesses was shown to predict internal goals and resource transfers within family businesses. This study also shows the benefit to family businesses in unifying values across individuals, as unity of values is a stronger predictor of satisfaction even when controlling for the family business’ tendency to privilege the family or business growth.