家族异质性、资源动员与代际创业

Family Heterogeneity,Resource Mobilization and Transgenerational Entrepreneurship

代际创业是破解家族企业传承困境和提供创新动力的重要手段,资源动员是创业者组织资源以执行创业机会的过程。如何优化家庭系统,提升创二代的资源动员水平是商业家族基业长青所面临的重要问题。本研究基于“结构—互动—功能”框架,采用fsQCA方法,从组态视角分析了家庭系统与创二代资源动员的关系。研究发现:(1)单个家庭要素并不构成高水平资源动员的必要条件,良性组合的家庭系统才能产生高水平的资源动员;(2)父母提供创业辅导加情感支持的独生子女家庭,或鼓励子女另立门户的多子女家庭,更容易产生高水平的资源动员组态;反之,代际情感疏离加父母放任试错的独生子女家庭,或引发子女间资源竞争的多子女家庭,更容易形成非高水平的资源动员组态;(3)导致高水平资源动员的家庭因素组合,并不是非高水平资源动员家庭因素组合的反面,这种因果非对称性显示了家庭系统复杂的、异质性的影响机制。本研究引入组态视角,探究家庭多要素组合对于创二代资源动员的影响,揭示家族培养高水平继任者的多重路径,具有理论指导与实践意义。

How to optimize the family system and enhance resource mobilization across generations is critical to business family.Based on the framework of“Structure—Interaction—Function”(SIF),this study uses fsQCA to analyze the configuration on the relationship between family system and transgenerational resource mobilization.The research team conducted two rounds of data collection in Zhejiang,Hunan and other welldeveloped provinces in 2019 and 2021.The first round data collection was mainly questionnaires and formal interviews,and the second round was mainly formal interviews and informal communication.Family members were invited to fill up the questionnaire.Meanwhile,interviews from the family generation and non-family executives were used to data triangulation.In addition,the author also used the secondary data such as listed company statements and public news reports.Considering multiple reasons such as typicality,integrity and theoretical saturation,22 cases were finally chosen.Results show that,first,single family element does not constitute a necessary condition for high level of resource mobilization,and a well-combined family factors will lead to high level of resource mobilization.Second,only-child families whose parents adopt supportive and mentoring attitudes,or multi-child families whose parents encourage other children to set up a new business,will be likely to achieve a high level of resource mobilization.On the contrary,only-child families whose parents adopt an isolative and laissez-faire attitude,or multi-child families whose parents induce the sibling competition for resources,will be likely to lead to non-high level resource mobilization.Third,the combination of family factors leading to high level resource mobilization is not the opposite of the combination of family factors leading to non-high level resource mobilization,and this causal asymmetry shows the complex and heterogeneous mechanism between family system and firm system.This paper introduces the configurations to explore the combined impact of family multi-factors on transgenerational resource mobilization,reveals the multiple paths of how to nurturing the next generations,which has theoretical and practical implication.The main contributions of this paper are as follows:First,it reveals the asymmetry,multi-path and interdependence of various factors of the impact of family system on entrepreneurial resource mobilization,and shows the heterogeneity and richness of business families.Second,it finds that emotional support and instrumental support have multiple combined impacts on resource mobilization,which provides empirical support for the view that entrepreneurs are embedded in their families.Third,using the fsQCA approach,it comprehensively analyzes the multi-path of family-driven secondgeneration resource mobilization from the three-dimensions of“Structure–Interaction–Function”,further develops the new paradigm of family business heterogeneity research,and deepens the understanding that family factors shape business families and then affect the family business they control.