Relationship between organizational leadership, culture and Dissertation

Relationship between organizational leadership, culture and performance in family businesses - Dissertation Example However, there is a dearth of research regarding the extent to which the founder is able to embed strategic behaviors into family firm management and culture or the degree to which these behaviors impact the financial performance of these firms (Sorenson, 2000). Some effort has been made to examine the leadership styles of family firm leaders and the relationship of these styles to family and non-family members (Kellerman, 2008). Aldrich and Cliff (2003) suggested that entrepreneurial leadership attributes likely influenced family firm strategies, processes, and structures. Sorenson (2000) found that participative leaders achieved high performance in both the family and the business dimensions of the firm. The findings of the test hypotheses regarding performance outcomes in these studies were not conclusive regarding the effects of leadership styles on performance. Research on the leadership styles of the founder and their effect on family and non-family members may provide insight into family firm performance (Sharma, 2004). Purpose/Research Questions The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between organizational leader’s thinking and behavioral styles, its culture, and financial performance. Three family firms will be selected for this study. Participants will include current owners, founders, and family member and non-family member managers and employees. ... Preliminary Literature Review The Family Firm Although family firms have played an integral role in world economies throughout history, research into family businesses did not begin to come into prominence until 1975 (Handler, 1989). Handler's attempt to integrate the field around a common purpose by defining a family firm as "an organization whose major operating decisions and plans for leadership succession are influenced by family members serving in management or on the board" (p. 262) is characteristic of such ventures in its difficulty to operationalize. Furthermore, Astrachan, Klein, and Smyrnios (2002) have defined family business along a continuum measuring the levels of family influence across the dimensions of power, experience, and culture. Their intent is to provide an objective and standardized measurement of family involvement allowing comparison along a broad spectrum of family businesses. Sharma (2002) developed a typology which creates 72 categories of family firms b ased on the possible levels of family and non-family involvement in seven areas as identified on a firm's stakeholder map. Her intent is to develop a mechanism for differentiating between family businesses along the continuum from the publicly traded international corporation to the mom and pop enterprise. Leadership Styles For this study leadership styles specifically refer to the thinking and behavioral styles of family firm leaders. Leadership styles are divided into three composite orientations with each orientation consisting of four styles each. The constructive orientation (achievement, self-actualizing, humanistic-encouraging, and affiliative) characterize thinking and behavior that