Montreal, Canada

May 11-13, 2012

Co-Hosts:

  • Michael Carney, John Molson School of Business, Canada
  • Alexandra Dawson, John Molson School of Business, Canada
  • Marylene Gagne, John Molson School of Business, Canada
  • Lucie Begin, Georges Doriot Conference, France
  • Colette Vanasse, HEC-McGill Center for Family Enterprises, Canada

Highlights:

  • Four pre-conference events were held:
    • STEP Academic meetings held on May 10-11 were co-chaired by Pramodita Sharma and Valerie Duffy. 32 scholars from 21 universities were in attendance. Ten cases on trans-generational entrepreneurship were presented and discussed. Attendees came from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Finland, France, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela.
    • The 2nd FERC Doctoral Consortium was co-hosted by Alexandra Dawson (JMSB, Concordia University), Allison Pearson (Mississippi State University) and Rebecca Long (Mississippi State University) on Friday, May 11th. The full-day Consortium included 13 students from Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Sweden, UK and USA. The Consortium featured presentations from the following family business scholars: Jim Chrisman (Mississippi State University) and Guido Corbetta (Bocconi University) who shared their views on the family business field; Esra Memili (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) who talked about how to engage in a successful career as a family business scholar during and after the PhD process; Trish Reay (University of Alberta) who addressed how to publish family business research; and Jeremy Short (University of Oklahoma) who talked about methods of research. The afternoon was dedicated to doctoral students' presentations of their research projects, with feedback from family business scholars.
    • The 2nd annual Fuller Landau Family Business Awards, sponsored by the Montreal-based accounting firm Fuller Landau LLP and Concordia's John Molson School of Business (JMSB) were held on May 11th. More than 100 scholars and members of the Montreal's family business community attended the FL awards event that recognizes Quebec-based, family-owned businesses whose policies and business practices have a positive impact on the community and stimulate economic growth through local entrepreneurial ventures. Nominees were evaluated based on the financial success of their companies; quality of business and family linkages; multi-generational family involvement; contributions to the community; and industry and innovative business practices or strategies. The judging panel, co-chaired by JMSB faculty members Michael Carney and Alexandra Dawson, included Terry Didus, partner at Heenan Blaikie LLP; Michele Desjardins, president of Koby Consulting and senior associate at Lansberg, Gersick and Associates; J. Sebastian van Berkom, president and CEO of Van Berkom and Associates Inc.; and last year's winners, Norman Hebert, Jr., vice-president of Pension Planning Centre. Michael Newton, managing director of Fuller Landau LLC presented the awards. The winning company in the medium-sized business category (25-100 full-time employees or between $1 and $5 million in annual revenue) was Les Entreprises Daniele Henkel, a manufacturer, distributer, laboratory and training centre specializing in non-surgical products for the professional health and beauty industry. Heritage Linencraft, which specializes in the import and distribution of bed and bath linens, took home the award for large-sized business (more than 100 full-time employees or more than over $5 million in annual revenues). Also recognized at the ceremony was a group of JMSB students who wrote a report as part of their Entrepreneurial Family Business course. The winners of the Best Student Paper Award were Katty Lara, Bethsabeth Paz and Santiago Molano for their report on Groupe HMH, a family-owned company and one of the largest independent publishing houses in Quebec.
    • Bi-lingual workshop in French and English entitled "What distinguishes family firms in crisis situations?" featuring Alain Bloch (HEC Paris) and Carole Bellon (Bellon Industries) moderated by Denise Pare-Julien.
  • 119 participants from the 23 countries were in attendance at the main FERC 2012. Scholars came from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, USA, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, USA, and Venezuela.
  • Keynote speeches were presented by Luiz Gomez–Mejia, Benton Cocanougher Chair in Business, Texas A & M University, USA and Danny Miller & Isabelle Le Breton-Miller, HEC Montreal and University of Alberta.
  • Lunch with the Journal Editors included:
  • Our first panel, entitled Interntationalization of Family Business Studies: the Asia Pacific and North American View included:
  • Our Second Panel, entitled Internationalization of Family Business Studies: The European View included:
    • 4th Georges Doriot Conference on Family Entrepreneurship; Alain Bloch, HEC Paris, France, Didier Chabaud, Academic de l'Entrepreneuriat et de l'Innovation
    • International Family Enterprise Research Academy: Lloyd Steier, School of Business, University of Alberta, Canada
    • Italian Family Enterprise Research Association: Alessandro Minichilli, Bocconi University, Italy
  • Family Business Scholar as part time Family Business Consultant: Learn from the pro, exploring the opportunities and pitfalls of a part- or full-time career in Family Business Consulting with an experienced panel of consultants Michael C. Stalker, Mark Green and Denise Pare-Julien.
  • The Poster Sessions were chaired by Marylene Gagne (FERC 2012) and Lucie Begin (4emes Journees Georges Doriot sur l'Entrepreneuriat familial)
    • 85 submissions were received of which 80 were accepted and 66 presented.

Awards Presented

Three categories of awards worth $31,500 were presented at FERC 2012:

  1. FERC Best Paper awards sponsored by MCS Financial Advisors were presented by Michael C. Stalker to:
    • First Place winners ($2000) were Josip Kotlar & Alfredo De Massis (University of Bergamo) for their article “Goal setting in family firms: The who, the what and the how.”
    • Second place winners ($1000) were Manisha Singal and Vijay Singal (Virginia Tech) for their paper “The strategic value of branding the family name.”
    • Third place winners ($500) were Alexandra Dawson (Concordia University), Pramodita Sharma (University of Vermont & Babson College), P. Gregory Irving and Joel Marcus (Wilfrid Laurier University) and Francesco Chirico (Jönköping International Business School) for their article “Predictors of next generation family members’ commitment to family enterprise.”
        • Ken Moores (Bond University), Carole Howorth (Lancaster University), Rebecca Long (Mississippi State University), and Ritch Sorenson (St.Thomas Univeristy) served as the FERC Best Poster Award Committee.
  2. FERC Doctoral Awards ($2000 each) sponsored by the Business Families Foundation were presented by Pascale Michaud in the categories of women, governance, leadership, and behavioural issues in family firms.
    • David Gras & Robert S. Nason (Syracuse University) for their article “The effect of family capital breadth and depth on firm performance: Evidence from impoverished Indian slums.”
    • Archimedes Guerra (Hong Kong Baptist University) for his article “Some family businesses are better than others: Are Confucian values the missing piece of the family firm performance puzzle?”
    • Nadine Kammerlander (University of St-Gallen) for her article “The influence of organizational social capital on strategic behavior: An explorative study of family firms’ innovativeness.”
    • Josip Kotlar & Alfredo De Massis (University of Bergamo) for their article “Goal setting in family firms: The who, the what and the how.”
      • Matthew Allen (Babson College), Robert Blunden (Dalhousie University), Jon Carr (Texas Christian University), Clay Dibrell (University of Mississippi), Mark Green (FERC co-founder), Claudio Muller (University of Chile), Allison Pearson (Mississippi State University), Frank Hoy (Worchester Polytechnic Institute), Alex Stewart (Marquette University) served as judges for these awards in the four categories.
  3. 2012 FOBI 20K scholarships (4@$5000 each) sponsored by the Grand Valley State University were presented by J. Kevin McCurren during the Gala Dinner to:
    • Kristen Day and Franz Kellermanns (University of Tennessee) for their proposal “Exploring the role of spiritual leadership within family firms.”
    • Leif Melin and Ethel Brundin (Jönköping International Business School) for their proposal “Family capital – the theoretical and practical solution for entrepreneurial capacity over generations in family businesses.”
    • Hanqing Fang (Mississippi State University), Esra Memili (University of North Carolina – Greensboro), Robert Van de Graaff Randolph, James J. Chrisman, and Tim Barnett (Mississippi State University) for their proposal “Family ownership, succession intentions, and professionalization.”
    • Robert S. Nason, David Gras, and G.T. Lumpkin (Syracuse University) for their proposal “The role of family capital in impoverished settings.”

Testimonials

Thank you for all your hard work in running the conference so efficiently. Not a single hiccup – that takes some doing!!

Carole Howorth, Lancaster University Management School

FERC Montreal was a very well organized, inspiring and energizing event, an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and brainstorm with colleagues, recognized scholars and editors in the field.
The format of doctoral consortium followed by poster sessions with panels, on the internationalization of family business studies, was well thought out and provided an opportunity for everyone to participate. At the same time, the lobby, where the posters were exposed in-between sessions, was transformed in a brainstorming arena where everyone could gather and cross-fertilize ideas with peers and presenters.

Bistra Stoytcheva, VP Legal Affairs, Business Families Foundation

I found FERC 2012 to be both educational and enlightening. The lectures, coupled with the more informal poster sessions, gave me a tremendous opportunity to learn more about current research as well as connect with members of the business family community. The concepts presented were thought provoking and ground breaking, resulting in a very holistic family business experience, and one I would recommend to all.

Thomas Clark, Project Manager, Business Families Foundation

The degree of personal commitment, dedication and intellectual openness of editors, researchers, faculty members, doctoral students and specialists gathering at the FERC activities in Montreal created a remarkable atmosphere of knowledge development, dissemination and retention. Truly a memorable experience!

Pascale Michaud, President, Business Families Foundation

 

Isabelle and I would like to thank you (Pramodita) and Michael for the superbly organized and most interesting FERC 2012 conference. We met so many wonderful people and encountered a tremendous richness of ideas.

 

Danny Miller & Isabelle Le Breton-Miller, HEC Montreal & University of Alberta