Do Family Firms Learn? A Relational View

Abstract

Though theoretical contributions have enriched organizational learning literature for over five decades, it is surprising to find that organizational learning has rarely been studied for family firms. When two out of every three enterprises in the world are either managed or owned by families, and only 30% of family firms make it to the second generation, the lackadaisical approach towards organizational learning in the case of family firms is questionable. Using social network analysis, this study examines the subprocesses of organizational learning in family firms in greater detail. This study contributes to the literature on organizational learning and family firms by proposing network measures for each of the subprocesses of organizational learning and taking the first step in developing a relational view of organizational learning that is long due for family firms.