Papers by Leona Achtenhagen
Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2017
The interface of the organization and its industry constitutes a vital space for development. Con... more The interface of the organization and its industry constitutes a vital space for development. Conducting a systematic literature review, we confirm that management research has paid rather little a ...
Family Business Review, Feb 21, 2023
Longevity is at the core of what makes family businesses special. Unlike most attempts to explain... more Longevity is at the core of what makes family businesses special. Unlike most attempts to explain longevity that have focused primarily on the factors within a family business that lead to longevity or the factors outside of an organization’s environment, we adopt a business-history perspective that enables us to show how the interplay between the organization and its environment can help to explain family business longevity. Building on the category literature, we trace the interaction of a small Swedish fourth-generation high-quality furniture manufacturer with its category over a period of more than 120 years. We identify the internal mechanisms driving family business longevity, the external mechanisms driving category development as well as the mechanisms underlying their interaction. Specifically, we provide new insights into how agency exercised by the family business contributes to the shaping of the category they are a member of, thereby nurturing their business longevity.
Career Development International, Jan 3, 2022
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore individual career management by family members in ... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore individual career management by family members in the context of their family firms.Design/methodology/approachThe interpretative interview study of family members active in family businesses explores how this context affects the choice, planning, goals and development of family members' careers in their family business.FindingsThe authors find that career management in the family business setting focuses on fulfilling the family business goals rather than the personal goals of family members. Career management is rather reactive and less self-directed than current literature on career development recommends. Based on the results, the authors develop a process model for individual career management in the family business context.Originality/valueLittle is known about individual career management of family members in a family business context, as research on careers in family firms has so far focused mainly on transgenerational succession. The authors explore how in family firms, the trend towards self-directed, individual career planning is in tension with a commitment to the family business and its legacy.
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2018
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2022
In this paper, we outline how the divorce of the main owner-manager of a family-owned SME impacts... more In this paper, we outline how the divorce of the main owner-manager of a family-owned SME impacts the family business system. Divorce not only represents a pronounced family failure, but it can also be a highly stressful condition for the family members involved. To date, the impact of divorce on family businesses remains understudied, despite rates of divorce as high as 50% in some countries. Drawing on almost a decade of experience with engaged scholarship at the interface between divorce and family businesses, we selected four typical case studies to illustrate different coping strategies and show how divorce can change the strategic outlook of the family business system in SMEs by altering the commitment of the owner family to maintain the business in the family as well as ensuring the business continuation per se. Moreover, we exemplify how legal ownership regulations can shape family businesses' strategic scope after divorce by impacting the financial situation. We integrate these findings into a model of family business system adaptation.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2022
Journal of Media Business Studies, 2016
As eminences of the field of media management – which exists as a scholarly field not least thank... more As eminences of the field of media management – which exists as a scholarly field not least thanks to their very efforts – in the essay “Questioning Media Management Research”, Robert G. Picard and Gregory F. Lowe (2016) provide their thoughts about the state of the field in a fun, yet provocative way. Making use of “parables”, they discuss four different, but interrelated areas for improvement of the field. All of these four areas are variations of the same theme – namely, the assessment that media management scholarship should improve in quality. As much as I agree with this assessment at large, I believe that there is a need to further elaborate on how we could actually go about to further develop media management as an academic field. Therefore, the aim with this commentary to Picard and Lowe’s essay is to critically discuss their analyses and provide some hands-on suggestions for what we, jointly, could do to develop media management scholarship. The findings derived from Picard and Lowe’s critical assessment of the media management field are not novel per se – similar results have been presented for example by Achtenhagen & Mierzejewska (2015), Krumsvik & Ots (2016), Küng (2007) and Ots, Nyilasy, Rohn, and Wikström (2015). However, this is positive, as only if such assessment is shared and voiced by many scholars, change might happen – and the novel approach chosen by Picard and Lowe to present their results in form of parables might certainly trigger attention and reflection. Picard and Lowe applaud that the media management field recently has seen an increase in number of different theories used, while criticising that these theories are merely applied to empirical phenomena, but neither expanded based on the empirical insights gained nor modified to fit the media management context. Interestingly, several of the theories mentioned have actually been (co-)developed by general management scholars drawing on empirical examples or studies from the media industries, but being published in general management, rather than media management, journals. For example, Coser, Kadushin and Powell (1982) studied the evolution of American college textbook publishing, tracking it through a period of initial diversity to the hegemony of only two models, the large bureaucratic generalist and the small specialist. Thereby, they advanced our understanding of an important question within institutional theory, namely, why many organisations in the same industry tend to be homogeneous. Similarly, Alvarez, Mazza, Strandgaard Pedersen, and Svejenova (2005) advanced
International Journal on Media Management, 2017
This editorial reviews current research about media entrepreneurship and introduces the four pape... more This editorial reviews current research about media entrepreneurship and introduces the four papers published in this special issue. These papers move the emerging academic field of media entrepreneurship forward by outlining the relevance of context for enhancing our understanding of entrepreneurial phenomena, by introducing the theoretical concept of 'entrepreneuring as emancipation', by analyzing the institutionalization of media entrepreneurship education, and by categorizing different investment types in corporate entrepreneurship. The editorial concludes by calling for continuing efforts to theory-building to further develop the field.
Women Entrepreneurship in Family Business, 2017
Despite several calls for more systematic research on the role of gender aspects for entrepreneur... more Despite several calls for more systematic research on the role of gender aspects for entrepreneurial family businesses, rather little research on such topics has been published in the leading family business journals. More research has been published in niched or lower-ranked journals as well as books. The aim of this chapter is to provide a systematic literature review of the intersection between gender and family business research published in different kinds of outlets, outlining the status quo of the discussion along different themes as well as a research agenda to help move the field forward.
This is the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for pub-lication in the follow... more This is the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for pub-lication in the following source:
"In allen Tatigkeitsbereichen fuhrend sein" : Ein Gesprach mit Dr. Giuseppe Vita, Vorst... more "In allen Tatigkeitsbereichen fuhrend sein" : Ein Gesprach mit Dr. Giuseppe Vita, Vorstandsvorsitzender der Schering AG
Gender, Work & Organization, 2021
Sweden is known to be one of the most gender-equal societies in the world. Thus, it remains as an... more Sweden is known to be one of the most gender-equal societies in the world. Thus, it remains as an enigma why a large discrepancy continues to exist regarding the gender balance in career choice and progression in many professions. Drawing on Hirdman's (1988) theory of gendered systems, in this paper, we explore the role of career resilience in the career progression of women who choose to work in the male-dominated IT sector. We draw attention to how the day-today process of practicing career resilience in a gendered workplace tends to evolve as women progress in their careers. Based on an interview study with 50 female IT professionals as well as a discourse analysis of 502 newspaper articles on women in this sector, we develop a process model of career resilience in gendered professions, outlining different coping strategies that allow women to develop and enhance such resilience over time. We conclude the paper by providing some practical recommendations.
International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, 2018
In recent years, firm growth has been recognized as an important topic. Yet, studying growth is a... more In recent years, firm growth has been recognized as an important topic. Yet, studying growth is a chal- lenging task. In result, existing studies on growth largely ignore the internal processes of growth. In this paper, we discuss the phenomenon of continuous growth based on a longitudinal, in-depth case study of a successful Swedish IT-consultancy. We analyze the internal processes of pursuing a strategy of conti- nuous growth and illustrate the complexity of these internal processes and the interrelatedness of the dif- ferent factors important for growth.
International Journal of Production Research
Industry 4.0 digital technologies are becoming indispensable for firms striving to enhance their ... more Industry 4.0 digital technologies are becoming indispensable for firms striving to enhance their supply chain capabilities and financial performance, but how these relationships play out in practice remains unclear. To address this issue, this study assesses the relationship between supply chain integration, supply chain agility, and financial performance from a dynamic capability perspective. Further analyses are conducted to establish whether Industry 4.0 digital technologies moderate the association between (a) supply chain integration and supply chain agility and (b) supply chain agility and financial performance. Findings based on the data pertaining to a sample of 274 Swedish manufacturing firms indicate that supply chain agility fully mediates the link between supply chain integration and financial performance. However, while Industry 4.0 digital technologies strengthen the effect of supply chain agility on financial performance, they do not moderate the relationship between supply chain integration and supply chain agility. These findings contribute to the ongoing debate regarding how digital technologies play a role in achieving competitive advantage in interplay with dynamic capabilities related to the supply chain. These findings are relevant for decision-makers, as they address the need for organisational adjustments beyond the mere introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies to fully reap their benefits.
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Papers by Leona Achtenhagen