Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods for Family Business

Edited by Alfredo De Massis, D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy, IMD Business School, Switzerland and Lancaster University, UK and Nadine Kammerlander, Chair of Family Business, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany

'One of the reasons for the shortage of qualitative studies published in top academic journals has been the lack of rigorous methodological directions. Alfredo De Massis and Nadine Kammerlander's Handbook fills this gap by offering an encompassing set of guidelines and clever suggestions to perform rich investigations of the most salient phenomena in family business, and to publish the results. These thoughtful and immediately applicable methods tremendously enhance scholars' ability to understand and explain these complex and fascinating organizations.'--Carlo Salvato, Bocconi University, Italy'Globally, interest in researching phenomena surrounding family businesses and business families is growing. Simultaneously, expectations regarding rigor and quality of research methods are also being elevated. This edited book serves as an invaluable resource for scholars seeking to produce meaningful and impactful qualitative research, not just in family business but in related fields as well.'--Tyge Payne, Texas Tech University, US'This is a superb book on a critical and much-neglected approach to family business research. It offers a set of inspiring chapters by leading authors that do a wonderful job of addressing the core techniques and challenges of qualitative methods as they apply to family firm research. I most highly recommend this book to all family business researchers wishing to plumb more deeply the dynamics, problems and opportunities of family enterprise.'--Danny Miller, HEC Montréal, Canada

• Contents:List of contributors viiForeword by Roy Suddaby xForeword by Professor Trish Reay xii1 Frequently asked questions in qualitative family business research and someguidelines to avoid risky paths 1Nadine Kammerlander and Alfredo De MassisPART I TRENDS AND PROSPECTS IN FAMILY BUSINESSQUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS2 Qualitative research in family business: methodological insights to leverageinspiration, avoid data asphyxiation and develop robust theory 25Evelyn Micelotta, Vern L. Glaser and Gabrielle Dorian3 Full-cycle research in family business contexts: combining qualitative casestudies and quantitative methods 48Kimberly D. Elsbach and Ishita Ghai4 Ethnography: a much-advocated but underused qualitative methodologyin published accounts of family business research 72Denise Fletcher and Rocky Adiguna5 Historical methods in family business studies 98Andrea Colli and Paloma Fernandez PerezPART II CASE STUDY RESEARCH6 The evolution of case study methodology in the study of family enterprises 125Giacomo Laffranchini and Frank Hoy7 The case study in family business: current perspectives and suggestions forthe future 161Tanja Leppäaho, Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki, Katerina Kampouri andEriikka Paavilainen-Mäntymäki8 Religion and business families’ philanthropic practices 191Navneet Bhatnagar, Pramodita Sharma and Kavil Ramachandran9 How can qualitative research advance the understanding of family firms’internationalization? A multiple case study of family firms internationalizinginto China and India 208Claudia Pongelli and Andrea CalabròPART III USING NARRATIVE-BASED APPROACHES ANDINVESTIGATING INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS10 Mapping narratives in family business studies: a guideline for researchers 224Michela Floris, Cinzia Dessì and Angela Dettori11 Growth through innovation and internationalization: exploring the role offamily business identity through narrative analysis 248Alexandra Dawson, Maria José Parada Balderrama and Alberto GimenoSandig12 Illuminating the space between: investigating interpersonal relationships infamily firms through qualitative inquiry 270Matthias WaldkirchPART IV ALTERNATIVE METHODS AND METHODOLOGIES13 Reasons, opportunities and methods for a visual analysis of organizationaltensions in family business 284Mara Brumana, Attilia Ruzzene and Katerina Vasilevska14 The fsQCA method in family business research 304Daniel Pittino, Francesca Visintin and Giancarlo Lauto15 Treating non-family managers like family: new insights from a re-analysis ofpre-existing qualitative interview data 321Jennifer E. Jennings, Albert E. James and Elizabeth A. Tetzlaff16 Research methods on emotions in family business 351Rania LabakiPART V PUBLISHING QUALITATIVE FAMILY BUSINESS RESEARCHAND ADDRESSING PRACTICAL ISSUES17 Why do so many qualitative studies of family businesses get rejected?Confessions of a recovering associate editor of the Family Business Review 390W. Gibb Dyer18 Engaging practitioners in qualitative family business research: an engagedscholarship approach 399Judith van Helvert-Beugels, Mattias Nordqvist and Leif Melin19 Bridging communication, building trust: the art and science of gettingaccess to informants and preparing them for in-depth qualitative inquiry 418Leilanie Mohd Nor and Mohar YusofIndex 427