Table of Contents

Contents:

List of contributors vii
Foreword by Roy Suddaby x
Foreword by Professor Trish Reay xii
1 Frequently asked questions in qualitative family business research and some
guidelines to avoid risky paths 1
Nadine Kammerlander and Alfredo De Massis

PART I TRENDS AND PROSPECTS IN FAMILY BUSINESS
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
2 Qualitative research in family business: methodological insights to leverage
inspiration, avoid data asphyxiation and develop robust theory 25
Evelyn Micelotta, Vern L. Glaser and Gabrielle Dorian
3 Full-cycle research in family business contexts: combining qualitative case
studies and quantitative methods 48
Kimberly D. Elsbach and Ishita Ghai
4 Ethnography: a much-advocated but underused qualitative methodology
in published accounts of family business research 72
Denise Fletcher and Rocky Adiguna
5 Historical methods in family business studies 98
Andrea Colli and Paloma Fernandez Perez

PART II CASE STUDY RESEARCH
6 The evolution of case study methodology in the study of family enterprises 125
Giacomo Laffranchini and Frank Hoy
7 The case study in family business: current perspectives and suggestions for
the future 161
Tanja Leppäaho, Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki, Katerina Kampouri and
Eriikka Paavilainen-Mäntymäki
8 Religion and business families’ philanthropic practices 191
Navneet Bhatnagar, Pramodita Sharma and Kavil Ramachandran
9 How can qualitative research advance the understanding of family firms’
internationalization? A multiple case study of family firms internationalizing
into China and India 208
Claudia Pongelli and Andrea Calabrò

PART III USING NARRATIVE-BASED APPROACHES AND
INVESTIGATING INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
10 Mapping narratives in family business studies: a guideline for researchers 224
Michela Floris, Cinzia Dessì and Angela Dettori
11 Growth through innovation and internationalization: exploring the role of
family business identity through narrative analysis 248
Alexandra Dawson, Maria José Parada Balderrama and Alberto Gimeno
Sandig
12 Illuminating the space between: investigating interpersonal relationships in
family firms through qualitative inquiry 270
Matthias Waldkirch

PART IV ALTERNATIVE METHODS AND METHODOLOGIES
13 Reasons, opportunities and methods for a visual analysis of organizational
tensions in family business 284
Mara Brumana, Attilia Ruzzene and Katerina Vasilevska
14 The fsQCA method in family business research 304
Daniel Pittino, Francesca Visintin and Giancarlo Lauto
15 Treating non-family managers like family: new insights from a re-analysis of
pre-existing qualitative interview data 321
Jennifer E. Jennings, Albert E. James and Elizabeth A. Tetzlaff
16 Research methods on emotions in family business 351
Rania Labaki

PART V PUBLISHING QUALITATIVE FAMILY BUSINESS RESEARCH
AND ADDRESSING PRACTICAL ISSUES
17 Why do so many qualitative studies of family businesses get rejected?
Confessions of a recovering associate editor of the Family Business Review 390
W. Gibb Dyer
18 Engaging practitioners in qualitative family business research: an engaged
scholarship approach 399
Judith van Helvert-Beugels, Mattias Nordqvist and Leif Melin
19 Bridging communication, building trust: the art and science of getting
access to informants and preparing them for in-depth qualitative inquiry 418
Leilanie Mohd Nor and Mohar Yusof

Index 427

About the Author

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

Reviews

'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