Ethnography of Family Business

[Michael O'Neal]

A search on the web (including Google Scholar) for material on the ethnography of family business and the business family, as well as cross-cultural aspects of family business, has not yielded very much. Grateful for any recommendations and/or resources. Many thanks.

[Michael Scroggins]

Alex Stewart is the only person I can think of who has done work in this area. I would be very interested in anything you might be able to uncover.

http://business.marquette.edu/faculty/directory/alex-stewart

Stewart, A. 2003. Help one another, use one another: Toward an anthropology of family business. Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 27, Summer: 383-396.

Stewart, A., & Hitt, M.A. 2010. The yin and yang of kinship in business: Complementary or contradictory forces. Forthcoming in Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth, Vol. 12. Website

[Michael O'Neal]

Many thanks for your response to my query.

I'll try to contact Alex Stewart and will certainly try to access the articles that you've very kindly noted.

I've found that there are a few articles on the general subject in the journal Family Business Review, but it is not open access. I recently stumbled upon the Family Business Wiki and its related forum, which might be of interest, self-described as follows: "The Town Square is a place for family business people to expand their business network, get advice and share their knowledge about family business issues. It is similar to 'LinkedIn' -- only focused exclusively on family business." Here is the relevant link: http://www.familybusinesswiki.org/

I've attached an article that I found on the subject, "Family Relations in Lisbon's Business Elite",and which might be of interest.

Again, many thanks indeed.

[Alex Stewart]

Thanks for the interest in this topic. I actually have a recent paper more directly on the anthropology of family business than the one with Mike Hitt (which does have some related materia); it's the sources of discretion paper:
http://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/query.cgi?field_1=lname&...
The "skeptical" one also has some material, but it's pretty elementary by anthropological standards. I was trying to show than anthropologists have dealt with fundamental issues regarding kinship.
Much of Jan through June will be spent writing a chapter on the anthropology of family business for a handbook, so this is an ongoing interest of mine.
As for few being involved, I'd agree. de Lima is a good source. However, I've had trouble finding anthropologists to present papers or submit chapters (to the edited book that the top three works are in above). Danilyn Rutherford, then of the U of Chicago and now UC Santa Cruz, did present at the prior conference and contribute a chapter. I suppose she represents the newer kinship studies. Representing the older kinship studies is a chapter by Hal Scheffler. Personally I find it a blessing not to have to worry about fashions in anthropology, not being in an anthropology department.
If any of you would like me to email you the article from Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, please email me at [e-mail]. And if you know of others, perhaps yourself, with an interest I'd be happy to hear. I'd particularly be glad of any comments on the "sources of discretion" paper. I'm aware that I'm out on some limbs with that one and that it's orientation is out of fashion. If Jack Goody weren't so retired he'd be the ideal person to comment on it. Chapters in these books can legitimately be revised and submitted for journal review, and I would like to work on that one further. Thanks for any comments.

[Michael O'Neal]

Thanks for the several responses to my query, which I'd also cross-posted on anthropology-related discussion forums on LinkedIn as well. I've made a compilation (4 pages) of responses received and have attached it hereto.

Here, excerpted, are links to some resources which might be of interest:
-Family Firm Institute: www.ffi.org
-Family Business Wiki: familybusinesswiki.org
-Family Business magazine's online "directory of advisors": www.familybusinessmagazine.com

Again, many thanks indeed.