Title: Women in family businesses: utilising assistance for success

Authors: John James Cater III; Marilyn Young; Pooja Krishnan

Addresses: Department of Management and Marketing, Soules College of Business, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd, Tyler, TX75799, USA ' Department of Management and Marketing, Soules College of Business, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd, Tyler, TX75799, USA ' London School of Economics, LSE Old building, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK

Abstract: As women in family firms experience challenges in leadership, we explore how sources of assistance and networking have been valuable to their success. Using a case study approach, we interviewed respondents from 18 US family firms in diverse industries. Respondents explained the importance of receiving assistance and guidance from both internal and external sources. We identified important types of needed information and external assistance sources. We generated four propositions from our study and noted the positive effect of close family ties and the negative effects of gender bias and family conflict.

Keywords: family business; family firm; women; gender bias; conflict; assistance; networking; leadership; case study approach; qualitative.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2021.115357

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2021 Vol.43 No.2, pp.180 - 204

Received: 31 Oct 2018
Accepted: 07 Jan 2019
Published online: 01 Jun 2021 *

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