Arab family businesses (AFB) can be found across a richly diverse region with a myriad of unique cultures. As Arab family businesses worldwide become more sophisticated with ownership, succession and wealth planning changing, family business training and education need to rapidly evolve its support of family businesses. This chapter argues that in the MENA region, training and education approaches for family-owned businesses differ to others due to their environmental paradox. Given such differences, play could offer Arab family business leaders an alternative route to training and education, as executives increasingly encounter rapid and complex environmental, competitive, and internal changes. In particular, the chapter argues that AFB's which are internationalizing their markets and operations will be driven by changes that force breaks with traditional routines.
TopIntroduction
Family businesses (FB) are found across the globe in different shapes and sizes, ranging from the local corner shop or bistro to national and international brands. FBs are of significant economic importance around the world, with 60%-90% of all businesses being family businesses (De Massis et al, 2015). Further, FBs have a significant impact on national economies as they contribute to job generation, GDP growth, innovation and philanthropy (Feliu & Botero, 2016).
Despite their economic importance there is still no agreement upon definition of the term ‘family business’ (Birdthistle, 2006; Chua, et al, 1999) and while academically FB definitions are varied (Diaz-Moriana et al., 2019), FBs fundamentally make up a significant proportion of businesses.
In the Arab world, more than 90% of businesses are family-run or family controlled (PWC, 2019), making family businesses central to Arab economies.
FBs given their long term outlooks across generations experience frequent and idiosyncratic changes in operational routines and strategic priorities across multiple dimensions (Miller et al., 2003). FBs, whether founders or successor generations, constantly seek out opportunities, intend to stay current and assume risks that further exacerbate the impact of changes on their businesses (Ward, 1997).
In these unprecedented times, change has become a constant, demonstrating that businesses, especially FBs due to their economic impact, need to adapt quickly to many situational unknowns. FBs need to be able to face the uncertainty of this ever changing macro context irrespective of their size, growth ambitions, competence acquisitions and legacy aspirations. Engaging with changes and the ability to learn is key for FBs to not only survive challenging times but to be able to evolve themselves across generations, transform their business models and leadership approaches in order to stay competitive. This chapter explores play as an approach to engaging with change in family businesses (Sandelands, 2010).
In addition to these external changes, FBs have an internal dimension to assimilate working, and sometimes living, with their family members. People they might have known all their lives, potentially from a different generation, spouses and partners; they make up the family business clan (Zabala, 2019). This makes FBs unlike non-FBs because of their pivotal and personal relationships. Internal family matters such as marriage, sibling rivalry, divorce, generational shifts all need to be navigated (Rutherford et al., 2006). Add the layer of internal business factors, including corporate culture, and FBs consistently face a range of evolving, volatile and ambiguous changes.
Comparative research into non-FBs versus FBs frequently report FBs outperforming non-family businesses across sectors, sizes and stock markets. Family businesses face different changes and more complex, non-economic challenges compared to their non-family business counterparts (Chrisman, et al., 2003; Lee & Rogoff, 1996; Steier, 2003), and without an understanding of these, comparisons between family and non-family businesses are understated. The chapter will explore the concept of play as a contemporary tool for family business training and education and a catalyst for executive decision-making in changing environments. Consideration is given to the challenging and changing nature of the decision making process in internationalizing Arab Family Businesses– and how training and education will need to develop innovative responses to AFB’s emergent futures. As with entrepreneurs, educating and supporting family business experiences is complex given the myriad of skills, attitudes, and knowledge that are demanded in constantly evolving institutional and competitive landscapes (McCann et al., 2003; Sandhu et al., 2012).