Patient Capital: The Role of Family Firms in Sustainable Business

Description

Sustainable businesses create economic and social value while simultaneously protecting the natural environment for future generations. This examination of environmental sustainability through the lens of the family business identifies factors that help family and non-family organizations address the dilemma of balancing short-term productivity, efficiency and profitability objectives, with innovating for long-term sustainable value creation. Exploring the case of the wine industry - an industry characterized by a variety of governance systems - Sanjay and Pramodita Sharma develop fresh insights into influences and drivers for proactive environmental strategies to address major global sustainability challenges. By doing so, the authors are able to demonstrate that family firms with a focus on trans-generational continuity of business, long temporal orientation, shared vision, faster decision-making processes, and the goal of preserving socio-emotional wealth are more likely to make patient long-term investments for innovations in products, services, processes and business models to address environmental sustainability challenges.

Sanjay Sharma is the Dean of the Grossman School of Business, University of Vermont. His previous published books include: Competing for a Sustainable World: Building Capacity for Sustainable Innovation (2014); Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship (2008); Corporate Environmental Strategy and Competitive Advantage (2005), and Research in Corporate Sustainability: The Evolving Theory and Practice of Organizations in the Natural Environment (2002) as well as numerous articles and book chapters. Pramodita Sharma is a Professor and Daniel Clark Sanders Chair in Entrepreneurship and Family Business at the Grossman School of Business, University of Vermont. Her previously published work includes: as co-author, Entrepreneurs in Every Generation: How Successful Family Businesses Develop Their Next Leaders (2016), The SAGE Handbook of Family Business (2013), Family Business Studies: Review and Annotated Bibliography (1996, 2012) as well as numerous articles and book chapters.

'In this new book, two global thought leaders in their respective fields, Sanjay Sharna in sustainable business and Pramodita Sharma in family business, join forces to provide a unique, comprehensive and impressively creative examination into the role that family firms play in developing sustainable business practices. Focusing on the wine industry, the authors generate meaningful insights regarding the importance of patient capital that are both theoretically rigorous and practically relevant. This book is a must-read, not only for those of us with an interest in the family businesses and the wine industry, but for all who care about business being more sustainable in the future.' Mattias Nordqvist, Joenkoeping University, Sweden 'Family firms - often driven by a stewardship mindset - constitute the vast majority of the world's businesses and economic activity. It is thus high time that focused attention be paid to how these firms might provide leadership in the transition to a more sustainable form of capitalism. In Patient Capital, Sanjay and Dita Sharma provide both the evidence extant and the research questions yet to be answered.' Stuart L. Hart, Steven Grossman Endowed Chair in Sustainable Business, University of Vermont and author of Capitalism at the Crossroads 'Rigor and relevance pair well in this insightful study of family wineries and their environmental strategies. The Sharmas have produced a highly readable book that will be of value to those wondering how even small players can profit from taking the long view. The Sharmas integrate hundreds of interviews about the role of sustainability in wineries into a fascinating story of how competitive advantage is created over generations. It is a wonderful contribution to a vital, growing literature on longevity that spotlights the first companies to embrace purpose as a guiding principle.' Michael V. Russo, University of Oregon and author of Companies on a Mission: Entrepreneurial Strategies for Growing Sustainably, Responsibly, and Profitably 'In this much-needed and timely work, the authors synthesize their leading scholarly expertise to provide a rich account of how and when businesses adopt proactive environmental sustainability strategies. The authors ambitiously wade into this uncharted domain, weaving qualitative evidence with rigorous theorization to elaborate a multi-faceted explanation of why family businesses are more likely to proactively address environmental concerns. This book fills a significant gap in research and provides an essential starting point for scholars going forward in understanding sustainability and the role that family businesses will play in proactively shaping corporate environmental strategies.' Justin W. Webb, Belk Distinguished Professor of Business Innovation, University of North Carolina, Charlotte 'This is a must read for anyone interested in sustainability management. Sanjay Sharma and Dita Sharma's book provides a very intriguing seminal contribution that helps to understand how family firms, from industrialized and developing countries, approach environmental sustainability. Family businesses represent the vast majority of firms around the globe both in terms of employees and economic output. Yet, most sustainability management research has ignored these firms, focusing instead on publicly traded companies from industrialized countries. Relying on rigorous in-depth case studies, this book proposes a comprehensive interdisciplinary framework identifying different drivers of greener business strategies. Their framework also shows that, given their greater longer-term orientation and values, family firms have a higher tendency to be greener than public firms. Overall, this is captivating book that will be of great interest to sustainability management scholars.' Jorge E. Rivera, George Washington University, Washington DC