Business and Management INK

How Do Scholars Choose Their Fields? “A Family Business Focus” Profiles Pramodita Sharma

April 11, 2012 1082

UVM.edu / Photo: Sally McCay

Pramodita Sharma, Editor of Family Business Review, was profiled on the University of Vermont’s University Communications website. Dr. Sharma, the Sanders Professor for Family Business at the School of Business Administration, talked about the roots of her passion for family business, a field she helped define, as well as her current research.

From “A Family Business Focus”:

Although it was not her own, the decision new generations make to join a family business is of particular interest to Sharma today. She’s finding that the commitment level and reasons why younger generations join the family business tend to fall in four categories: need (can’t find another job), greed (don’t want someone else to benefit from the family business), a desire to contribute (help family and others), and obligation (parental pressure). Sharma and a colleague from Concordia wrote an award-winning theory paper about this topic in 2005 and have collected comparative data in Canada and Switzerland. They are now focusing on whether it matters why someone joins the family business, and if performance varies among these categories.

“We’re asking if it matters why someone joins,” says Sharma, who delivered the keynote address “Governing a Family, a Firm, and a Family Enterprise: How a Family Enterprise can Achieve Sustainability” at the 2011 Asia Pacific Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices Family Summit in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. “The first question is will they join; the second is will they stay; and the third is what their performance is like. Surprisingly, we found that the ‘obligation’ people and the ‘desire’ people tend to stay and perform, depending on their abilities and their consciousness. The ones who come for need don’t do well and tend to have no self-confidence and low efficacy. They don’t go away, nor do they perform.”

Click here to read the rest of the profile at UVM.edu.

Family Business Review (FBR), a refereed journal published quarterly since 1988, is a scholarly publication devoted exclusively to exploration of the dynamics of family-controlled enterprise, including firms ranging in size from the very large to the relatively small. Click here for information on manuscript submission.

In March 2012, FBR published a special issue celebrating its 25th anniversary. Please follow this link to read the introduction co-authored by Dr. Sharma, James J. Chrisman of  Mississippi State University, and Kelin E. Gersick of Lansberg, Gersick and Associates LLC.

Are you interested in receiving email alerts whenever a new article or issue becomes available online? Then click here!

Bookmark and Share

Business and Management INK puts the spotlight on research published in our more than 100 management and business journals. We feature an inside view of the research that’s being published in top-tier SAGE journals by the authors themselves.

View all posts by Business & Management INK

Related Articles

Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on the European Union Emission Trading Scheme
Business and Management INK
January 10, 2025

Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on the European Union Emission Trading Scheme

Read Now
Navigating CSR Communication in an Age of Polarization
Business and Management INK
December 18, 2024

Navigating CSR Communication in an Age of Polarization

Read Now
What European SMEs Can Teach Us About Innovation and Informal Human Resource Management
Business and Management INK
December 16, 2024

What European SMEs Can Teach Us About Innovation and Informal Human Resource Management

Read Now
When Do You Need to Trust a GenAI’s Input to Your Innovation Process?
Business and Management INK
December 13, 2024

When Do You Need to Trust a GenAI’s Input to Your Innovation Process?

Read Now
Using Intelligent Self-Limitation to Explore the Distinction Between Environment and Umwelt

Using Intelligent Self-Limitation to Explore the Distinction Between Environment and Umwelt

In this post, author Morten Knudsen reflects on the inspiration behind his article, “Environment and Umwelt: Grand Challenges and Intelligent Self-Limitation,” published […]

Read Now
The Authors of ‘Artificial Intelligence and Work’ on Future Risk

The Authors of ‘Artificial Intelligence and Work’ on Future Risk

During the final stages of editing the proofs for Artificial Intelligence and Work: Transforming Work, Organizations, and Society in an Age of Insecurity, […]

Read Now
From Conflict to Peace: Reflecting on the Leadership of John Hume in Northern Ireland

From Conflict to Peace: Reflecting on the Leadership of John Hume in Northern Ireland

In this post, author Joanne Murphy reflects on the life and legacy of John Hume, the topic of her article, “Leadership, liminality, […]

Read Now
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments