Raphaëlle Mattart, our PhD candidate has recently won the “Best PhD proposal award” at the IFERA 2020 conference.
Raphaëlle shares about her research in this post.
Family businesses are unique. These organizations contain two universes that need to be conciliated, but universes which are ruled by their own dynamics, own perceptions, and ways of functioning: the family and the business. Due to this uniqueness, a stream of researchers recently highlighted the needs of family businesses to develop a proper family governance as a complement of corporate governance to help family businesses managing these distinct yet embedded spheres.
The specific role of the family governance is to manage the relationship between the family, the individual family members, and the business via several mechanisms. The need of family governance mechanisms is increasing as family businesses become more complex and the number of generations involved in family businesses increases too.
My thesis aims at unveiling key aspects related to a specific family governance mechanism that is more and more used among family businesses on a practical level but that still needs deeper scientific understanding: the family constitution. Family constitutions are written documents that articulate and set out the principles, the collective values, the strategy, the identity, and the expectations of the family in relation to the firm.
My thesis will focus on several questions and challenges. I would like to identify what is understood as a family constitution and the various roles it can play. I also want to question the link between non-financial aspects and family constitutions to highlight which considerations are the most prominent for family businesses but also explore its potential misuse to protect family’s interests instead of the family business’interests. Then, as family businesses are dynamic organizations that evolve with society and next generations, I would like to analyze how perceptions related to family constitutions can change across family generations and business life cycle (including generational differences).
These questions driving my thesis are coming with multiple challenges, be it theoretical, as there is a lack of theoretical insights, or empirical, as the family constitution is a written document that is not published or available in open source format. However, thanks to the partners of the new Family Business Chair of HEC Liège, we already have a privileged contact with family entrepreneurs and family businesses.