Cognition, emotion and action: persistent sources of parent–offspring paradoxes in the family business

Miguel Pina E Cunha (1) , Maria João Soares Leitão , Stewart Clegg , Remedios Hernández-Linares , Horia Moasa , Kathleen Randerson (2) , Arménio Rego (3)

1 NOVA SBE - NOVA - School of Business and Economics
2 Audencia Business School
3 Universidade de Aveiro

Purpose The purpose of the study is to explore inductively the unique paradoxical tensions central to family business (FB) and to analyze how FB's members face these tensions and their implications in the personal and professional realms. Design/methodology/approach A multiple-case study with 11 parent–offspring dyads from Portuguese FBs was conducted putting the focus on the micro-level interactions. Findings The slopes of roles and relationality in FBs produces three persistent sets of tensions around cognition, emotion and action. These tensions exist in a paradoxical state, containing potentiality for synergy or trade-off. Originality/value Our study is the first to empirically demonstrate that paradoxical tensions between parent and offspring are interrelated, by emphasizing the uniqueness of FB as a paradoxical setting and offering insights to negotiating of these singular paradoxes.

Keywords: business families micro-foundations parental relationships paradox role conflict; business families; micro-foundations; parental relationships; paradox; role conflict

Domains: Business administration

Miguel Pina E Cunha, Maria João Soares Leitão, Stewart Clegg, Remedios Hernández-Linares, Horia Moasa, et al.. Cognition, emotion and action: persistent sources of parent–offspring paradoxes in the family business. Journal of Family Business Management, 2021, 12 (4), pp.729-749. ⟨10.1108/JFBM-11-2020-0104⟩. ⟨hal-03881998⟩