Managing Cultural Diversity and Conflict in Family Businesses: An Organizational Perspective

Section

Reviewer's Comments

General Comment

The paper addresses an interesting topic but presents several problems. The use of the phrase "cultural diversity" is not justified, as the content does not clarify its relevance.

Introduction

The authors do not identify the gap in the research.

Thank you very much for your remark about our Introduction section. This section has now been modified to emphasize more clearly research gaps. Some previous findings leading to literature gaps have been identified. Part of information has been left out.

Literature Review

The section is well structured and written. However, there is a section numbering error. After the Literature Review section, the Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions sections should follow in this order.

Thank you for pointing out the section numbering error. We revised the document to ensure that after the Literature Review section, the sequence of sections correctly follows the standard academic structure: Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions. This correction will improve the organization and flow of the paper, aligning it with academic standards.

Materials and Methods

The main problem with the paper is the low number of interviewees and the small number of companies they come from. This cannot lead to scientifically sound results and mainly grounds the overall recommendation for this paper.

Tanja

Qualitative research, as advocated by authors like Creswell, often focuses on depth and richness of data rather than quantity. The intent is to gather detailed, meaningful insights from a smaller, more focused sample rather than superficial data from a large, diverse group. In the context of our study on family businesses, interviewing a limited number of founders and successors allows for an in-depth exploration of complex dynamics and conflicts, aligning with qualitative research principles.

Creswell and other experts in the field acknowledge that qualitative research is not about generalizing findings to a larger population but about gaining a deeper understanding of specific contexts or phenomena. Therefore, despite the small sample size, our study's approach is valid within the qualitative research paradigm, especially because it provides rich, detailed insights that contribute to the understanding of conflict and culture in family businesses.

Denzin, N. K., Lincoln, Y. S., Giardina, M. D., & Cannella, G. S. (Eds.). (2023). The Sage handbook of qualitative research. Sage publications. This edition of the handbook likely addresses contemporary perspectives on qualitative research, emphasizing the value of in-depth, rich data that can be obtained from smaller, targeted samples.

Bazeley, P., & Jackson, K. (2019). Qualitative data analysis with NVivo. Qualitative data analysis with NVivo, 1-376. This book provides practical guidance on qualitative data analysis, highlighting the depth of analysis possible with smaller samples.

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage publications. This book is a comprehensive guide to the methodologies and philosophies behind various qualitative research approaches, including discussions on appropriate sample size

Hollweck, T. (2015). Robert K. Yin.(2014). Case Study Research Design and Methods. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 30(1), 108-110.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101.

Section

Reviewer's Comments and Suggestions

Abstract

- Add more specifics on the research methodology (sample size, location, data collection tools, etc.)

- Highlight the unique contributions of the study and implications for family business leaders.

- Reduce the background details and emphasize the new findings.

Thank you for your valuable feedback. The abstract has been revised to include more specific details on the research methodology, including the sample size and data collection tools used, and to better highlight the unique contributions and implications of the study for family business leaders. We have reduced the background details and placed greater emphasis on the new findings to align with your recommendations.

Introduction

- Foreshadow key findings and contributions upfront rather than just overviewing the topics.

- Provide more details on gaps in the literature and why this study is needed.

- Consider incorporating an illustrative example or case anecdote to make the topic relatable.

- Define key terms like “culture” and “values” for more robust measurement and analysis.

Thank you very much for your remark about our Introduction section. This section has now been modified to emphasize more clearly research gaps. Some previous findings regarding intergenerational dynamics leading to conflict and literature gaps have been identified. Part of information has been left out.

To keep the paper scientific, an illustrative case example has not been included in this version of the paper.

A clear definition of culture and values has been provided.

Literature Review

- Synthesize existing literature more critically by pointing out contradictions, gaps, and limitations.

- Compare and contrast findings from different studies on relevant topics, instead of just summarizing individually.

- Incorporate more recent references, as many seem older than ideal.

Thank you very much for pointing out problems with our literature review part. This section has now been improved to point out to contradictions relevant for our research topics.

Several older references have been replaced with newer references. The remaining references of older date (e.g. Schein, 1983) are the foundational references in the field.

Results

 Provide descriptive statistics about the interview participants and firms.

Use illustrative anonymous quotes to support key themes.

Thank you for your feedback. We have expanded the section on descriptive statistics to include more detailed information. This includes the age range, gender distribution, roles within the family business, size of the firms (number of employees), industry sectors, and years in operation. These details provide a comprehensive context for understanding the dynamics within the participating family businesses.

Thank you for your suggestion. We have incorporated illustrative anonymous quotes throughout sections 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3. to support the key themes of our study. These quotes, carefully selected from our interviews, provide concrete examples and enhance the reader's understanding of the complex dynamics within family businesses as discussed in our findings.

Conclusion

- Offer actionable recommendations for family business leaders based on implications.

- Note limitations and future research opportunities.

Thank you for your input. Based on the study's implications, we offer actionable recommendations for founders and successors, such as embracing diversity, fostering open communication, and supporting successors' autonomy. We also acknowledge limitations, including the need for broader geographic representation and the influence of founder personality traits on conflict resolution. Future research opportunities include extending this study to a wider range of industries and incorporating quantitative data for a more holistic understanding.

Additional Issues/Biases

1. Selection bias: Participation may be skewed towards businesses with more open communication styles.

2. Social desirability bias: Interview responses might be influenced by participants giving socially desirable answers.

3. Founder personality: Conflict resolution approaches may be more dependent on founder personality traits.

4. Management skills: Experienced leaders might handle conflict and shape culture differently.

5. Survival bias: Focusing only on surviving firms could miss insights from failed firms.

6. Suggest adding quantitative data (like financial performance metrics, conflict frequency surveys, cultural values assessments) for statistical analysis to complement qualitative findings.

Thank you for your valuable feedback and insightful suggestions for addressing potential issues and biases in our research. We greatly appreciate your thoughtful insights.

While we acknowledge the importance of these considerations, we would like to note that conducting a comprehensive study to address each of these issues and biases would indeed require significant time and resources. As you rightly pointed out, this is a substantial undertaking.

In light of this, we fully agree that these aspects warrant attention in future research endeavors. Addressing selection bias, social desirability bias, founder personality traits, management skills, survival bias, and incorporating quantitative data are all important avenues for future exploration.

Section

Reviewer's Comments

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In my opinion the only problem that has not been fully resolved by the authors is related to the fact that there are still few recent references in the literature review section.

For specific aspects of succession management see for example:

Rotaru, V., Mihai, L., & Ogarcă, R. (2020). SUCCESION MANAGEMENT IN ROMANIAN SMEs. Management & Marketing Journal, 18(2).

Thank you for your valuable remark. We have incorporated the suggested reference "Rotaru, V., Mihai, L., & Ogarcă, R. (2020). Succession Management in Romanian SMEs. Management & Marketing Journal, 18(2)" as well as other recent references to enrich our literature review. We acknowledge that including these recent studies provides a more current perspective to our manuscript.

Additionally, we have retained foundational references such as Schein (1983) despite their older publication date. These foundational references are crucial as they establish the underlying theories and concepts in the field of family business and succession management. Their inclusion ensures that our review is grounded in established scholarly work while also being augmented by more contemporary studies.

By balancing both recent and foundational references, our literature review aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of the subject, capturing both the historical context and the latest advancements in the field.