Family Enterprises Case Study

2.1The Development of Strategies in SMEs characterized as Family Organizations

The investigation of family organizations comprehends, to a limited extent, the path in which the flow of SMEs are predominantly the consequence of the pretended by the originators or their successors in the organization 's basic leadership prepare. Despite the fact that there is no formal idea which can be utilized to characterize the family organization, it is conceivable to recognize the union of family and organization units in the definitions offered by different creators. As indicated by Bernhoeft (1989, p.33), the family organization is described by having its beginning and history connected to the family.

The family organization is portrayed by innate progression

Due to the inter-subjective nature of the situation under study, a multiple case study (Yin, 1994) with qualitative and descriptive characteristics was carried out.

This study was conducted in four companies in the second largest furniture cluster in Brazil. 25 actors in the area of logistics were interviewed at the ownership, directorship, management and operational levels so that the content of the interviews could be compared. Although semi-structured interviews, consisting of pre-defined central themes were used, they were also open to new themes identified during field work.

The technique of Content Analysis (CA) was used to analyze the interviews. This technique attempts to indicate in a plausible manner the hidden elements in human language as well as organizing and making it possible to understand the original meanings expressed in its overt or explicit elements (Bardin, 1977). The use of CA is intended to identify variables, restrictions, motivations, attitudes, beliefs and explicit and implicit tendencies which surround strategic aspects in the area of logistics. In addition to this, CA also makes it possible to uncover ideological aspects which may be present in such mechanisms as directives and principles and which are believed

Thus the father of the current partners and his uncles decided not to establish a single family company and each of the brothers set up his own company. Breaking up the company within one single activity in this way, where each of the brothers from the second generation had his own business, meant that cousins were not included in the transition to the third generation.

After this reorganization some parts of the second generation of the family ended their involvement in furniture manufacture so that the family group in Company Delta was the only part of the family that remained in this activity. Thus, after the owner-director of Company Delta left as a result of the afore-mentioned professionalization of management, the partnership run by the brothers began.

4.4. Company Gamma

Company Gamma was founded in 1989 to manufacture sofas and armchairs. According to the founder of the company, this sector was chosen because this type of manufacture does not require high initial investment, since it uses mainly manual labor. At the time, the founder was employed as a bank manager and was in constant contact with owners of companies and this allowed him to identify investment