Università della Svizzera italiana

Knowledge accumulation in family firms : Evidence from four case studies

Chirico, Francesco

In: International small business journal, 2008, vol. 26, no. 4, p. 433-462

Le but que se propose le présent article est d'aider à mieux faire comprendre comment il est possible d'accumuler les connaissances au sein d'une entreprise familiale. Quatre entreprises familiales, de Suisse et d'Italie, ont accepté de participer à cette étude. La documentation existante, renforcée par l'analyse de ces études de cas, a abouti à la mise en place d'un modèle de...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Knowledge integration and dynamic organizational adaptation in family firms

Chirico, Francesco ; Salvato, Carlo

In: Family business review, 2008, vol. 21, no. 2, p. 169-181

The speed of change in competitive environments has prompted firms to develop processes directed at enabling organizational adaptation. This is captured by the concept of dynamic capabilities. We focus on a particular form of business organization, that is, the family firm. Specifically, we argue that knowledge integration—a dynamic capability through which family members' specialized...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Measures of value in acquisitions : Family versus nonfamily firms

Granata, Darya ; Chirico, Francesco

In: Family business review, 2010, vol. 23, no. 4, p. 341-354

This article sheds light on the valuation of family firms when compared with nonfamily firms as acquisition targets. The authors argue that although the majority of theoretical and empirical research explicitly recognizes the prevalence and superior performance of family firms around the world, acquiring companies tend to regard family firms as unprofessional and inefficient organizations,...

Università della Svizzera italiana

A farewell to the business : Championing exit and continuity in entrepreneurial family firms

Salvato, Carlo ; Chirico, Francesco ; Sharma, Pramodita

In: Entrepreneurship & regional development: an international journal, 2010, vol. 22, no. 3-4, p. 321-348

What factors influence exit from the founder's business and subsequent entrepreneurial renewal in a generational family firm? Guided by this research question, we trace the development of the Italian Falck Group from its inception as a steel company in 1906 – ascension as the largest privately owned steel producer in Italy – losses in the 1970s and 1980s leading to business exit from steel...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Dynamic capabilities and trans-generational value creation in family firms : The role of organizational culture

Chirico, Francesco ; Nordqvist, Mattias

In: International small business journal, 2010, vol. 28, no. 5, p. 487-504

While some research on entrepreneurship in family businesses has focused on transgenerational value creation, a gap exists in understanding how such value is generated across generations. The present research offers insights through the lens of dynamic capabilities, which are created by knowledge and in turn generate entrepreneurial performance and value creation. A model is built based on...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Resource orchestration in family firms : Investigating how entrepreneurial orientation, generational involvement, and participative strategy affect performance

Chirico, Francesco ; Sirmon, David G. ; Sciascia, Salvatore ; Mazzola, Pietro

In: Strategic entrepreneurship journal, 2011, vol. 5, no. 4, p. 307-326

Drawing on the process of resource orchestration, we argue a co- alignment of multiple factors is needed for family firms to increase performance through entrepreneurship. Specifically, we posit that entrepreneurial orientation provides the mobilizing vision to use the heterogeneous yet complementary knowledge and experiences offered by increased generational involvement toward...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Franchising and the family firm : Creating unique sources of advantage through “familiness”

Chirico, Francesco ; Ireland, R. Duane ; Sirmon, David G.

In: Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 2011, vol. 35, no. 3, p. 483-501

The paucity of research examining family firms engaged with franchising is surprising. We theorize about differences in franchising behavior between family and non-family firms and the relative advantages accruing to family firms in this context. We also explore how selection processes tend to lead to family franchisor / family franchisee matches that enable a more effective sharing of...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Simulating dynamic capabilities and value creation in family firms : Is paternalism an ‘asset’ or ‘liability’?

Chirico, Francesco ; Nordqvist, Mattias ; Colombo, Gianluca ; Mollona, Edoardo

In: Family business review, 2012, vol. 25, no. 3, p. 318-338

The authors conduct a simulation study using system dynamics methods to interpret how and when paternalism affects dynamic capabilities (DCs) and by association value creation in family firms. Their simulation experiments suggest that the effect of paternalism on DCs and value creation varies over time. Initially, increasing levels of family social capital and low levels of paternalism are...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Improving the long-run survival of family firms : Knowledge-management and resource-shedding processes

Chirico, Francesco ; Colombo, Gianluca (Dir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Università della Svizzera italiana, 2008 ; 2008ECO001.

The present PhD Thesis aims to better understand and improve the long- run survival of family firms. It is composed of four articles: the first two focus on knowledge integration and accumulation; the last two, rather, concentrate on business exit and regeneration. The research conducted reveals that family firms eager to survive across generations need to accumulate and integrate knowledge...