Document Type
Article
Language
eng
Format of Original
11 p.
Publication Date
2010
Publisher
Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.
Source Publication
Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence, and Growth, eds. A. Stewart, G. T. Lumpkin, and J. A. Katz, Vol. 12 (2010)
Source ISSN
1074-7540
Abstract
Less polemical authors have published useful overviews of scholarship and institutional development in family business (Chrisman, Kellermanns, Chan, & Liano, 2010; Heck, Hoy, Poutziouris, & Steier, 2008; Schulze & Gedajlovic, 2010; Sharma, 2004). I take this as license for hyperbole. In such a vein, I am skeptical eight times over: that the field can be objective, that it can be defined, that “family business” is the right label, that it will find useful theories, that kinship exists, that if it does exist (all right, I do believe it does) we really observe it in action, that the field can progress without regressing, that it can be relevant, and that it can find its niche in universities. “Skeptical” has a nice ring to it. I confess, though, that my concerns are worries more than a lack of willingness to believe. After all, I hope that the papers in this volume will goad us into avoiding pitfalls as the field develops.
Recommended Citation
Stewart, Alex, "Skeptical about Family Business: Advancing the Field of Family Business in its Scholarship, Relevance, and Academic Role" (2010). Management Faculty Research and Publications. 7.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/mgmt_fac/7
Comments
Accepted version. Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth, Vol. 12 (2010): 231-241. DOI. This article is © Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.