From here to eternity: An empirical analysis of the goal system of family wineries

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the article is to gain insight into and analyse the goals of Hungarian family business wineries.

Research Design & Methods: Basco’s model of family business goals dimensionality constituted the basis of the research. After analysing Basco’s four dimensions, the goals were examined according to a new model to gain a deeper insight into the antecedents and driving forces of firm-wide goals. The main design of the study was qualitative and the research sample size and the number of interviews was 21. The analysis tool was the NVivo 12 software.

Findings: The research supports evolutionary features already described in the literature to be faced by Hungarian family businesses. An important conclusion of the study is that issues relating to innovation, awareness, growth, and development almost exclusively concern products, services, and more sustainable use of natural resources. The research did not identify development goals relating to management or governance.

Implications & Recommendations: Owners and managers, especially from the second generation, should focus much more on the development plans for their companies. No short- or medium-term development plans were found in the wineries studied.

Contribution & Value Added: A further elaborated model of the Basco multidimensional goal model was developed based on the empirical study. Furthermore, four managerial dilemmas were identified to have a definitive impact on the future development of mainly first-generation family business wineries.

Keywords

family business; economic and non-economic goals; wine sector

Author Biography

Nóra Vajdovich

PhD student, Doctoral School of Entrepreneurship and Business, Budapest Business School, University of Applied Sciences (Hungary). Her research interests include family business, economic and non-economic goals.

Balázs Heidrich

PhD, Habil., professor, rector, Budapest Business School University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Finance and Accountancy, Department of Management (Hungary). His research interests include service management and family business.

Szilárd Németh

PhD, college associate professor, Budapest Business School University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Finance and Accountancy, Department of Management (Hungary). His research interests include marketing strategy and family business.

Krisztina Németh

PhD, college associate professor, Budapest Business School University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Finance and Accountancy, Department of Accountancy (Hungary). Her research interests include family business professionalization and performance.

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