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| Author(s): |
Franciele Beck
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade (FEA/SBD) |
| Defense date: | 2017-01-27 |
| Examining board members: |
Fabio Frezatti;
Andson Braga de Aguiar;
Carlos Eduardo Facin Lavarda;
Claudio de Araújo Wanderley
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| Advisor: | Fabio Frezatti |
| Abstract | |
This dissertation investigated how the organizational slack practice supports a private family business to achieve its financial and non-financial goals. Organizational slack is defined in this research as an availability of resources at a higher level than is strictly necessary to the organization\'s operations (Cyert & March, 1963, Onsi, 1973, Danneels, 2008). Organization slack stems from experiences and future expectations of individuals who need to make decisions in a given social context (Nazarova, 2014). The study took the essence and the socioemotional wealth lens to look at the particularities of the family business. Theses frameworks are summarized in terms of need to exert influence and control over management, the direct involvement in the strategic and operational decisions of the organization, and the intention of business continuity under family control (Chua et al., 1999, Gomez-Mejia, Haynes, Núñez-Nickel, Jacobson, & Moyano-Fuentes, 2007, Berrone, Cruz & Gomez-Mejia, 2012, Chrisman, Chua, Pearson, & Barnett, 2012). A qualitative research was developed through an interpretative approach and conduction of a case study. The selected company has 36 years of history, is in the second generation of the family and contemplates a structure, and complexity required for an investigation about organizational slack. The data were obtained from 35 interviews, internal documents of the organization and the observation of structures, procedures and behaviors during the six months that the researcher was involved in the field. The research used the discourse analysis technique to perform a description and explanation of the investigated phenomenon through (i) understanding what permeates the organization, (ii) take out fragments of different subjects, moments and situations that presents the phenomenon investigated and (iii) discussion of the research findings based on the inferences and previous literature. This study discusses that the organizational slack does not necessarily represents a dysfunctional behavior of organizational subjects, or a problem in terms of performance in the organization. Contrarily, the practice of slack within the limits that are acceptable by the business family owners is seen as an alternative in decisions that involves a high level of insecurity or uncertainty, as well as a meaningless strategy to prepare and structure the organization for the long term. The contributions of the research are highlighted in the discussions related to (i) the positive perspective of the organizational slack, (ii) the family authority in the company which legitimizes the practice of slack and defines its delimitations, (iii) the concern in the organization about the intensity, nature of the resources, moment and form with which the slack is practiced, and not in its existence or not in the management model, (iv) the recognition of the importance of dealing with the issue of slack under a holistic perspective of the management control system, and (v) the benefit of a more extended temporal view at the management model that values, in addition to financial aspects, the emotional and affective involvement of family members and employees with the organization. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 15/12449-8 - SLACK ORGANIZATION'S ROLE IN REACH OF OBJECTIVES OF A FAMILY BUSINESS |
| Grantee: | Franciele Beck |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate |