“Coping with Disruptions: Family Firm Continuity and Sustainability in Times of Rapid Change”
Radical technological changes in family firms’ business environment, as well as major social, economic and political changes throughout the world, demand more flexibility and adaptability from family firms. At the same time, the family system itself is altering significantly. Families become smaller, have fewer children and will include more elderly persons, potentially endangering the continuity of the family firm. It is thus increasingly important for family firms to develop strategies and structures needed to address radical change, both internally and externally.
The International Family Enterprise Research Academy, IFERA, invites papers that add knowledge to the selected conference theme “Coping with Disruptions: Family Firm Continuity and Sustainability in Times of Rapid Change”. In addition, we invite papers on all aspects of family business research, including but not limited to succession, leadership, governance, entrepreneurship, innovation, strategy, marketing, organizational behavior, sociology, family psychology, history, economics, finance and accounting, as well as topics that lie at the intersection of these and other interrelated disciplines. All theoretical and methodological approaches are welcome. As “engaged scholarship” is highly valued in the conference host organization, researchers are encouraged to reflect, next to the theoretical contribution, on the practical implications of their studies.
Keynote Speakers:
Joe Astrachan, Formerly Kennesaw University, USA
Kimberly Elsbach, University of California Davis, USA
Tim Mescon, AACSB International
Josip Kotlar, Lancaster University, UK
Pictures of the event are available on the IFERA Official Facebook page[tabby title=”Committee”]
Conference Co-Chairs: Anita Van Gils, Ilse Matser
Consortia Chair: Claudia Binz Astrachan
Research and publications Director: Josip Kotlar
Event Coordinators: Valentina Re, Karin Rozendal
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Conference Venue: Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, The Netherlands
Event dates: 3rd – 6th July 2018
Conference Program Overview (pdf)
Consortiums Program Overview (pdf)
Conference proceedings (members access only)
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IFERA 2018 will assign several awards that, based on peer-review, will recognize excellence, quality and impact of papers and proposals submitted to the conference. Awards will include the Best Conference Paper, a Best Paper on Conference Theme, the Best Paper-Contribution to Practice, the Best Reviewer(s) and the best PhD Thesis Proposal.
Award jury: Lloyd Steier (chair), Torsten Pieper and Kimberly Eddleston
Winner:
Risk-taking and Financial Distress in Family Business – Francesco Chirico, Massimo Baù, Luis R. Gómez-Mejia and Geoffrey Martin
Other nominated papers:
Award jury: Sabine Rau (chair), Britta Boyd and Mattias Nordqvist
Winner:
Family Firm Disrupters: Exploring the Relationships between Family Cohesion, Family Disruptive Capacity, and Company Disruptive Capacity – Joseph Astrachan, Claudia Binz Astrachan and Josip Kotlar
Other nominated papers :
Award Jury: Joe Astrachan (chair), Isabel Botero and Andrea Calabro
Winner:
Jansen Office Supplies: Love to Work….or not? A Shift in Leadership and Strategy – Jan Willem van der Vloot van Vliet, Rachel Heeringa and Ilse Matser
Other nominated papers:
Award Jury: Panikkos Poutziouris (chair), Rania Labaki, and Alfredo de Massis
Winner:
Outside Director and the Disclosure of Firm-Specific Information to the Board of Directors in Privately Held Firms – Yan Du, Ann Jorissen and Lorraine Uhlaner
Other nominated papers:
Award Jury: Josip Kotlar (chair), Ilse Matser and Anita Van Gils
Winners:
Unai Arzubiaga, Jasper Brinkerink, Alexandra Dawson, Vittoria Magrelli
Award Jury: Leif Melin (chair), Esra Memili and Nadine Kammerlander
Winner:
Ownership Succession Financing and Post-Succession Development Paths in Private Family Firms – Ellen Janssen, Hasselt University
Other nominated papers:
[tabby title=”Social Programs”]
All attendees of the 2018 IFERA Conference are invited to join our social events during the conference days. The events are included in the ticket price.
If you are willing to bring a friend or your family with you, you can buy extra tickets in the registration process.
You can still buy extra tickets after your registration buy sending an email to office@ifera.org.
Please note that children under 16 can attend all social events for free, you can register them by sending an email at office@ifera.org.
Welcome Reception
The Welcome Cocktail for all conference participants will be held on Tuesday July 3rd at:
Waanders In de Broeren, a famous bookshop set in a renovated 15th Century church in Zwolle City Centre.
Address: Achter de Broeren 1-3, 8011 VA Zwolle, Netherlands
Time: 19.00-21.00
Dresscode: Casual
TITLE: The Guardians of Tradition
Social Evening
The Social Evening will be held on Wednesday July 4th at:
De Franse School, a 16th Century Building in the historical village of Hattem,
Address: Kerkplein 16, 8051 GH Hattem
Time: 18:00- 22:00
Dresscode: Casual
Transports: Bus will leave from Windesheim University at 17:30 and will leave from De France School at 21:30/22:00/22:30. On the way back the bus will stop at all main hotels.
TITLE: Preserving History through Disruption
Gala evening
The Gala Evening and Award Ceremony will be held on Thursday July 5th at:
RAW Space, a converted industrial space, now cultural platform of the famous artist Ronhald A. Westerhuis
Address: Willemsvaart 21A, 8019 AB Zwolle
Time: 19:30/20:00 to 23:30 (attendees can leave at anytime)
Dresscode: Formal
TITLE: Storytelling through Generations: Fairy Tales meet Contemporary Arts
ABSTRACT: The need to tell and hear stories is second only to the need for nourishment and precedes love and shelter. People can survive without love or home, but almost none in silence; narratives are the opposite of silence, and stories are the sound of our lives.
Storytelling serves a purpose that outlasts generations.
People started telling stories to explain natural phenomena. Among these stories, fairy tales are special carriers of life lessons passed from one generation to the next until today, hidden behind imaginary worlds and characters.
Storytelling also found an expression in painting and sculpture, long used to tell narratives of religion, patronage, and power.
But in the twentieth century’s artistic quest for abstraction, artists have made a radical break with the past, rejecting the figurative and virtually eliminating any explicit narrative content.
These new narrative frames highlight the roles that each of us can play, both as an author and a reader. They define meaning in today’s interconnected and multivalent world. Artists today engage with narratives through installation, painting, photography, sculpture, video, and performance. For these artists, storytelling does not necessarily require plots, characters or settings. Rather, narrative potential lies in everyday objects and materials, and their embedded cultural associations.
This is what inspires the work of Ronald A. Westerhuis.
Tonight, please enjoy experiencing the rich historical relationship between literature and arts. In this polyphony, we hope you will discover a timeless journey in the world of human cultural expression.
[tabby title=”Location”]
The IFERA 2018 Conference will be organised in partnership with the Windesheim University of Applied Sciences and will be held in the Windesheim University Main Campus in Zwolle, The Netherlands.
Windesheim University of Applied Sciences
The Dutch Centre for Expertise in Family Business
8000 GB Zwolle
The Netherlands
Zwolle is a beautiful mercantile town with a Medieval centre. It is an excellent destination for a weekend of absorbing culture, shopping and good food. In the Dutch Golden Century, Zwolle rapidly developed into a powerful Hanseatic town, and the resultant wealth and liveliness can still be felt when visiting Zwolle.
Zwolle has a Medieval centre, gorgeous theatres, a broad range of shops, excellent hotels and restaurants and many splendid parks. In other words, Zwolle has everything one might expect a modern-day city to have, without compromising the intimacy of its history. The historic facades, city walls and towers, the 600-year-old Sassenpoort gate and star-shaped city moat, flanked by monumental merchant’s homes and trees still characterise this city, and its beautiful alleys and impressive fortifications still beg to be explored.
[tabby title=”Call for Papers”]
Radical technological changes in family firms’ business environment, as well as major social, economic and political changes throughout the world, demand more flexibility and adaptability from family firms. At the same time, the family system itself is altering significantly. Families become smaller, have fewer children and will include more elderly persons, potentially endangering the continuity of the family firm. It is thus increasingly important for family firms to develop strategies and structures needed to address radical change, both internally and externally.
The International Family Enterprise Research Academy, IFERA, invites papers that add knowledge to the selected conference theme “Coping with Disruptions: Family Firm Continuity and Sustainability in Times of Rapid Change”. In addition, we invite papers on all aspects of family business research, including but not limited to succession, leadership, governance, entrepreneurship, innovation, strategy, marketing, organizational behaviour, sociology, family psychology, history, economics, finance and accounting, as well as topics that lie at the intersection of these and other interrelated disciplines. All theoretical and methodological approaches are welcome. As “engaged scholarship” is highly valued in the conference host organization, researchers are encouraged to reflect, next to the theoretical contribution, on the practical implications of their studies.
Windesheim University of Applied Sciences (https://www.windesheiminternational.nl) located in Zwolle (just one hour by direct train from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport) is looking forward to warmly welcome you in July 2018!
Potential research questions following the conference theme:
How do family owners and their management teams change their strategies and long-term (investment) behaviour in times of disruptive change?
How do family firms deal with the risks associated with disruptive technologies? Which (family) factors influence the eventual adjustment of the innovation portfolio in these family firms? How do family firms balance between more incremental versus more radically new innovation projects?
How do entrepreneurial families deal with the current challenges regarding big data, knowledge acquisition, codification, and dissemination?
How do incumbents and next-gen members deal with the challenges of digitalization?
Which factors stimulate family firms to opt for more sustainability-oriented practices, and how can these innovations support the development of a more inclusive society?
When and why do families take strategic decisions that stimulate growth options such as acquisitions and innovative spinoffs or startups to extend the business portfolio? Do these strategic changes influence the attitudes of next-generation family members regarding succession in the firm?
How can human resource and corporate governance practices within family firm groups be initiated or transformed to enhance the necessary change processes?
How does the capital structure of family firms change in high velocity environments?
How can institutional partners, such as regional and national governments, research institutes, and universities support the strategic change process in entrepreneurial families?
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