Entrepreneurial Families: The Influence of Business on Life Courses, Generational Relations, and Social Identity
Author: Stamm, Isabell , mail@isabellstamm.de
Department: Sociology
University: Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Kohli
Year of completion: 2012
Language of dissertation: German
Keywords:
entrepreneurial fami
, life course
, generational relatio
, family business
Areas of Research:
Biography and Society
, Family Research
, Organization
Abstract
This empirical study focuses on how a business might influence the relational structure and way of life for an entrepreneurial family. It entails sociological scrutiny of a social unit that has received little research attention, despite its impact on our modern economy. Isabell Stamm unveils the conditions of their specific constellation and the resulting challenges, as well as the strategies developed to cope with these challenges. The conceptual part of this study addresses the evolving social meanings of this social unit along with its central characteristics and leads into a conceptual model for the reciprocal influence of the business and the family, which theorizes the specific structures and conditions of entrepreneurial families. The empirical investigation describes the influence of the business on the life of entrepreneurial family members at different stages in their lives, identifies dependencies along the way, and focuses on the particularities of the generational setting in entrepreneurial families.
