CeFEO researchers granted 4 960 000 SEK from Swedish Research Council

Professor Ethel Brundin and Assistant Professor Markus Plate at Jönköping International Business School and the Centre for Family Enterprise and Ownership have received a substantial research grant for their project Trans-generational continuity of the owning family: identity formation, relationship dynamics and emotional influence.

This project investigates the interplay of identity, self-conscious emotions, and relationships within the family business context. The focus will lie on the owning family and its striving for trans-generational prosperity.

The hypothesis is that matters of identity (especially owner identity), family relationships, and the accompanying self-conscious emotions have a tremendous impact on whether and how family members commit to the business, and how relationships influence the decision-making capability of the owning family.

The researchers will apply an individual perspective over time (identity formation over the life path) and a family perspective (present family dynamics and family functioning) and a research framework that links self-conscious emotions (pride, shame, jealousy e.g.), identity and relationships, and its implications for trans-generational continuity of the family business. In this framework, they will show how identity is created in relationships (and vice versa) and argue that the formation of a functional owner identity, a system of healthy relationships and a constructive handling of self-conscious emotions can be seen as the socio-psychological foundation of what might be named “professional ownership”.