Family business goal formation: a literature review and discussion of alternative algorithms

Goals represent an organization’s desired outcomes, and family businesses are known to pursue multiple goals, which commonly include both financial and non-financial aspects. While family business goals have garnered much attention among researchers, relatively little is known about the approaches t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inManagement review quarterly Vol. 69; no. 3; pp. 329 - 349
Main Authors Williams, Ralph I., Pieper, Torsten M., Kellermanns, Franz W., Astrachan, Joseph H.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cham Springer International Publishing 01.09.2019
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Accounting/Auditing
Algorithms
Business and Management
Family owned businesses
Goal setting
Innovation/Technology Management
International Business
Literature reviews
Maximizing
Optimizing
Goal formation
Satisficing
Family business
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Goals represent an organization’s desired outcomes, and family businesses are known to pursue multiple goals, which commonly include both financial and non-financial aspects. While family business goals have garnered much attention among researchers, relatively little is known about the approaches that family businesses use to shape their idiosyncratic goal sets. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, we review the family business literature and synthesize the current knowledge regarding goal formation. Second, we incorporate insights from extant organizational goal literature and discuss various approaches (algorithms)—specifically, maximizing, satisficing, and optimizing—that family businesses may employ to select goals. These insights form the foundation for our discussion and recommendations for future research aimed at furthering the understanding of family business goal formation.
ISSN:2198-1620
2198-1639
DOI:10.1007/s11301-019-00155-8