Autonomy and paradoxes in family ownership: case studies across cultures and sectors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyse in-depth how family owners develop autonomy through ownership for family members within the family, the family within the business and the business within its context. Design/methodology/approach A cross-cultural in-depth case study with best practice cases from China, Germany, Sweden, England, Tanzania, Israel and the USA. It was based on in-depth interviews of family members and non-family employees. Findings A business-owning family has to balance paradoxical choices such as safety or loss of attachments; a stable notion of self or grasping new opportunity; own drive or dependency on others. These constituted the micro-dynamics of autonomy. The macro-outcome of negotiating autonomy was strategy formations such as succession, cluster ownership, stewardship, new business models. Research limitations/implications The research findings enable a more differentiated analysis in case studies and qualitative research and with this theory development on family owner motivation. Practical implications It will give insight for practitioners, advisors and family owners, on the complexity of maintaining family health, family member commitment and emotional issues when developing ownership strategies. Social implications The paper offers a model over the complexity of autonomy, a main drive for entrepreneurship within our economy. It shows the complexity of gender and life stage choices. Originality/value The paper offers a model over the complexity of autonomy, regarded as the main drive for entrepreneurship and family ownership. It shows how this process is fundamental for understanding how the family develops its ownership.