Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

This year the NC1030 Annual Meeting was virtual, and took place October 1 and 2. All the state representatives were present, along with NC1030 advisor and NIFA representatives. On October 1, day one (2 - 4:30pm) there were introductions by NC1030 co-chairs Marshall and Valdivia, and a brief report of activities during 2019, which included the annual NC1030 meeting October 10-11, 2019 hosted by Dr. Virginia Solis Zuiker, University of Minnesota representative in Minneapolis, virtual research meetings every other month, and to develop the research objectives next five-year proposal that starts 2021. Advisor M. Wilcox, and NIFA reps B. Elron and R. Shoemaker, provided comments, and information about the changes at NIFA, and the funding opportunities for this year.

Drs. LeHew and Manikowske, leaders of the proposal writing team, shared the progress with the five-year proposal. The committee went over the Issues and Justification section for the new proposal submitted on September 15, 2020. Discussion centered around the use of the term Small and Medium Enterprises vs family business. Time was spent developing the objectives for the new project. The discussion concentrated on the supporting evidence from of the literature and on-going research, and settled on the following objectives:

Objective 1: Identify and measure the sources of major change and disruption and the structural barriers that impact the family/household, the business or the community.

Objective 2: Identify and measure transformative responses to the positive and negative impacts of change and disruption on the family/household, the business, or the community.

Objective 3: Determine and inform policy or practice related to the wellbeing of the family, the business, or the community.

On October 2, the Business Meeting and group discussions on-going research took place.

Business Meeting: Drs. Marshall and Valdivia will continue as co-chairs until 2021. Dr. Manikowske continues in charge of the minutes. State representative presented brief reports, especially focusing on joint activities undertaken this year. The next Annual Meeting will take place in Logan Utah on October 6-9, 2021, if travel is safe. There were no changes to the Policy guidelines. Each representative shared a brief of activities being carried out jointly. The group agreed to write a letter in support of Dr. Jorgensen’s contributions to NC1030, and about the value of her program at University of Nebraska, as it is in danger of being cut.

After the business meeting, the members met in two working groups to coordinate activities for on the on-going research projects. The research sub-groups met virtually often to work on the proposal and specific research projects listed below.

Several groups were formed at the annual meeting in Minnesota. An NC1030 research team submitted an invited manuscript to the Journal of Family and Economic Issues as a critical review of the family business literature that has been published over the last decade. The paper was accepted for publication in October. Three additional subgroups were created to work on manuscripts.  One group met many times via video conference. Their work resulted in a paper presentation at USASBE in January 2020, as well as a publication in Sustainability (open-access journal). This paper utilized data from the 2016 Wave 4 study reporting on the impact of involvement of business owners and their communities on business success. Another group interested in the impact of technology use and small family business is working on a paper using data collected in 2019 from the Small Business Values Study sent out from Purdue. A third group is focusing on the factors that impact FB-BRAG (family business balance, resolve, adaptability, growth). These include gender, ethnicity/race, and an interaction effect of gender & race, along with other factors, such as being a copreneur business, location, earnings of the business, and other capital/asset variables.  A similar analysis will be conducted with subjective wellbeing, and business processes (networks), potentially significant for minority businesses (Latino/a and African American) in rural, where race and ethnicity shape social capital.

The research activities undertaken this year are listed under the three objectives. Note that in some research straddles more than one objective.

Objective 1:  Identify and measure the sources of change and disruption that impact the family/household, the family firm or the community.

A first research topic utilized data from the fourth wave of data collected for the National Family Business Survey (NFBS). Data for the NFBS was originally collected in 1997, 2000, and 2007 and involved telephone interviews from a National Family Business Panel to collect survey data. The fourth wave of data collected in 2016, the final round of a longitudinal study, followed a cohort of family businesses that continued to operate over a 20-year period. The longevity of this sample allowed for the enhanced detection of patterns over time and the ability to determine factors contributing to long-term business success. The publication from this study, “The Reciprocal Involvement of Family Business Owners and Communities in Business Success”, was published in Sustainability. Using the fourth wave of the National Family Business Study (NFBS) this group also worked on a conference paper titled “Owner and Community Involvement and Business Success in Small Family-Owned Business.” The findings were presented in a competitive research paper at the 2020 United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Annual Conference.

Another research project led by Dr. LeHew will identify key barriers to regional fiber farmers and identify of best practices and essential infrastructure needed to grow and expand a regenerative and circular fiber agriculture supply chain. The project has been delayed due to COVID-19.

Objective 2: Identify and measure responses to the positive and negative impacts of change and disruption on the family/household, the family business, or the community.

The 2013 Small Business Survival and Demise (SBSD) study after a Natural Disaster Project, focus on how small businesses were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The main purpose of the research group was to examine how cash flow problems in small firms influence business recovery and resilience after a natural disaster. This study also examined the effect intermingling between business and family finances has on small businesses after non-normative disruption. The publication from this study “The Effect of Cash Flow Problems and Resource Intermingling on Small Business Recovery and Resilience after a Natural Disaster, is in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues during this period.

Drs. M. Marshall, B. Katare and C. Valdivia developed a COVID Household/Small Business Survey. This is a joint collaboration between members from Purdue University and the University of Missouri to learn about the adjustments strategies on households and businesses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Qualtrics survey was applied to a representative sample of households and businesses, to learn about the impact of COVID-19 on their livelihoods, wellbeing, and the adjustment strategies of businesses. A manuscript focused on small business adjustment strategies is in preparation.

Objective 3: Determine and inform policy or practice related to family firms.

George Haynes led a review of the Contributions of Family Business Literature in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues (JFEI). The review article published in JFEI focused on research from 2010 to 2019. The JFEI articles utilize theories and conceptual frameworks from several social science fields to help readers understand the importance of including both the family and business in any discussion of family businesses. The literature review addresses four family business topical areas: (1) household and business economics, (2) business continuity and succession, (3) managerial and adoption strategies, and (4) values and goals. These JFEI articles have focused on differentiating family businesses from other types of businesses; explaining the unique interface between the family and the business; and identifying the characteristics (i.e., demographics, adjustment strategies, continuity, capitals, and values and goals) for family business survival and success. In the future, family business researchers have the opportunity to better understand the impact of community resources and climate; more carefully assess the challenges of women, minorities, and immigrants; understand the role of cultural capital; and explore the impact of innovation during rapidly changing times, such as those created by the pandemic.        

Short term outcomes:

The review for the Journal of Family and Economic Business summarizes previous research and suggests innovative ideas for future research on family businesses. The literature review will be value resource for aspiring researchers.

Publications

Wiatt, R.D., Lee, Y.G., Marshall, M.I., and Zuiker, V.S. (2020). The effect of cash flow problems and resource intermingling on small business recovery and resilience after a natural disaster.” Journal of Family and Economic Issues. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-020-09710-y. (Objective 1)

Jorgensen, J., Masuo, D., Manikowske, L., and Lee, Y. (2020).  The reciprocal involvement of family business owners and communities in business success.  Sustainability, 12(10), 4048,  https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104048  [Objectives 2/3]

Haynes, G., Marshall, M., Lee, Y., Zuiker, V.S. Jasper, Sydnor, S., Valdivia, C., Masuo, D., Niehm, L., and Wiatt, R. (2020). Family business research:  Reviewing the past, contemplating the future. Journal of Family and Economic Issues. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-020-09732-6 (Objectives 1/3)

Manuscripts in Preparation

Johnson Jorgensen, J., Zuiker, V., Manikowske, L., and LeHew, M. (in preparation).  Impact of Communication Technologies on Small Business Success.  Journal of Small Business Strategy.

Niehm, L.S., Lee, Y., Masuo, D., and Shin, E. (in preparation) The Survival of Family-Owned Business in Rural and Small Communities: Entrepreneurial and Innovative Responses to Recessionary Disruption. (Preparing for submission to JFEI, 2020).

Katare, B., M. Marshall, and C. Valdivia (in preparation) Bend or Break? Small Business Survival and the CARES Act during the COVID-19 Shock (Preparing for submission to Journal of Business Venturing).

Extension Publications

Wiatt, R. and M.I. Marshall. (2020). “Why ALL Businesses Need a Plan”. Indiana Onsite Wastewater Professionals Association Newsletter, Spring Edition, pp.12-13. Available at: https://issuu.com/iowpanews/docs/iowpa_spring2020_issuu?fr=sNTEwMzI5MDk4NA.

Wiatt, R. and M.I. Marshall. (2020). “Defining your Dreams”. Vegetable Crops Hotline, 669. Available at: https://vegcropshotline.org/article/defining-your-dreams/.

Sydnor, S., Wiatt, R., Day, J. and Marshall, M. I. (2020) Bouncing Back Better: From Resilience to Regeneration. In Purdue Institute for Family Business (PIFB), PIFB Quarterly Newsletter: 2020 Summer Edition (Special Research Edition).

Refereed Presentations

Jorgensen, J., Masuo, D., Manikowske, L., and Lee, Y. (2020).  Owner and community involvement and business success in small family-owned businesses.  Presentation at the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Conference, New Orleans, LA – Objective 2/3

Sydnor, S. and Marshall, M. (2020). Mindfulness, Socioemotional Wealth, and Family Firm Performance. Paper presented at the February, Small Business Institute Annual Conference 2020, New Orleans, LA.

Wiatt, R. and M.I. Marshall. “Love of Work or Love and Work? Workaholism among Small Business Owners”. Selected Paper Presented at: 2020 Small Business Institute Conference, February 2020. Conference Proceedings, 105-120. Available at: http://smallbusinessinstitute.biz/2020-Conference-Proceedings.