Small Business Economics

, Volume 47, Issue 3, pp 755–769 | Cite as

Centralization and delegation practices in family versus non-family SMEs: a Rasch analysis

  • Wendy L. Martin
  • Alexander McKelvie
  • G. T. Lumpkin
Article
First Online:
Accepted:

Abstract

In this paper, we examine differences in centralization and delegation practices of family and non-family firms. Using Aston studies measures, we examine specific types of decisions and the level of authority involved in decision making by owner-managers. We use Rasch analysis to examine the concentration of authority in a sample of 124 small- and medium-sized firms. We find that family firms maintain more centralized decision making and delegate differently than their non-family counterparts. Whereas family firms prioritize centralizing operational issues, non-family firms centralize employment issues more. Our findings have implications for understanding the distinctiveness and professionalization of family firms.

Keywords

Centralization Delegation Family firms Decision making Rasch 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Wendy L. Martin
    • 1
  • Alexander McKelvie
    • 2
  • G. T. Lumpkin
    • 3
  1. 1.Department of BusinessTrinity International UniversityDeerfieldUSA
  2. 2.Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises, Whitman School of ManagementSyracuse UniversitySyracuseUSA
  3. 3.Price College of BusinessUniversity of OklahomaNormanUSA

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