Review Article: 2021 Vol: 25 Issue: 6
Víctor Hugo Fernández-Bedoya, Universidad Señor de Sipán
Citation: Víctor Hugo Fernández-Bedoya. (2021) Family Support For Successful Entrepreneurship. A systematic review of Latin American Experiences. International Journal of Entrepreneurship, 25(4), 1-12.
One of the theories that seek to explain the motivating factors for entrepreneurship is the family environment. The purpose of this study was to find evidence of family support for successful entrepreneurship in Latin America in the Scopus database between 2010 and 2020, and the following questions were asked: what is this evidence, in which scientific journals is it usually published, in which geographical areas were the studies conducted, what was their methodological approach, and what conclusions were reached? A systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA methodology to answer these questions. Two searches in the Scopus database ("family" and "entrepreneurship"; "family" and "entrepreneur") yielded 4,989 initial records, which were reduced to 10 after inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. The findings revealed that the evidence identified is mostly published in "Revista de Administraço Mackenzie," based on experiments conducted in Brazil, Mexico, and Chile, and no trend in the methodological approach used was identified. The final conclusions show that family support exists in the form of motivation for the initiation of entrepreneurial activities, as well as in cases where an individual inherits a family business from his parents and grandparents. The entrepreneur's feelings of gratitude toward his or her family were identified in all cases.
Entrepreneurship, Family, Family Business, Latin America, Systematic Review.
Academics in the field of business sciences have been studying the elements that encourage entrepreneurship, identifying both inspiring and demotivating elements that influence the decision to begin this activity (Cunha et al., 2020; Kibler et al., 2019; Staniewski & Awruk, 2019; To et al., 2020).
In many regions of the world, conclusive research have been undertaken to discover which factors encourage entrepreneurship in diverse populations, which vary based on the geographical and temporal setting. Some of these empirical studies are those reported by Ambati (2020) in India, Sesen & Ekemen (2020) and Bilgiseven & Kasimoǧlu (2019) in Turkey, Nguyen et al. (2019) in Vietnam, Mat et al. (2015) in Malaysia, and Rachmania et al. (2012) in Indonesia.
According to (Terán & Guerrero, 2020), a variety of entrepreneurship theories have been established, which may be divided into four categories based on the point of view or stream.
Classical theory, neoclassical theory, Schumpeter's innovation theory, Leibenstein's x- efficiency theory, Mark Casson's theory, Papanek and Harris' theory, Hardvard School's theory, Kirzner's adjustment theory, Knight's profit theory, and Hayek's market equilibrium theory, to name a few,are all relevant from an economic standpoint.
The theory of personality traits, the locus of control theory, the need for achievement theory, and the theoryof personal ingenuity, among others, are all applicable from a psychological standpoint.
Religious belief theory, integrative supply theory, social change theory, group level pattern theory, Hoselitz theory, Stoke theory, and anthropological theory, on the other hand, are all sociological theories.
Finally, the opportunity-based theory, resource-based theory, financial capital and liquidity theory, social capital or social network theory, and human capital entrepreneurship theory are identified from an entrepreneurial standpoint.
While it is true that there are various theories that attempt to explain the motivational elements for entrepreneurship, some authors claim that empirical study on the subject is still in its infancy (Davidsson et al., 2001).
Seed capital is critical to the success of any business (Cai et al., 2018; Gedik et al., 2015). There is plenty of evidence that it is a significant barrier to the initiation and achievement of entrepreneurial activities (Cagetti & De Nardi, 2006; Evans & Jovanovic, 1989), and that its volume may even have an impact on business outcomes (McKenzie & Sansone, 2019). On the other hand, there is conclusive evidence that ventures founded by women typically begin with small amounts of capital (Honjo, 2021).
The concept of the family is universal and historical in the sense that it has always existed (Elena & Pérez, 2017). Regardless of its classification (Martnez Vasallo, 2015), it is important to note that one of its main characteristics is that it serves as the first school of language, communication, values, norms of conduct, rights and duties as a human being, as well as a space of social and economic support generated by the bonds between its members (Oliva Gómez & Villa Guardiola, 2014).
The family as a group is usually always attentive to its members in terms of the happiness of the individuals who comprise it (Margolis & Myrskylä, 2013). Although there is no universal agreement on the most important factors that contribute to self-satisfaction, nearly all researchers agree that economic conditions, family circumstances, health, and work are all important factors (Cummins, 2006; Easterlin, 1995; Salvatore et al., 2001; Van Praag et al., 2003).
At the entrepreneurial level, it is well understood that the family is frequently an important support point in entrepreneurship, providing initial support and continuing to motivate its continuation over time (Xu et al., 2020). Throughout an individual's life, any act of family support can generate feelings of gratitude, which are defined as an emotional or affective state that arises when an individual recognizes that he or she has obtained an outcome personally valued as positive from an external source (Ma et al., 2017; McCullough et al., 2002).
Because the literature on this topic is limited, especially in the scientific literature, it is necessary to compile experiences of family support for the success of entrepreneurship in Latin American countries in accordance with the support function identified in the family.
As for the general problem of this investigation, it was: What is the evidence of family support for successful entrepreneurship in Latin America in the Scopus database?
For following specific problems were formulated: in which scientific journals has evidence of family support for successful entrepreneurial entrepreneurship in Latin America been published in the Scopus database; in which geographical areas has evidence of family support for successful entrepreneurial entrepreneurship in Latin America been generated in the Scopus database; with what methodological approach has research evidencing family support for successful entrepreneurial entrepreneurship in Latin America been conducted in the Scopus database; what are the findings on family support for successful entrepreneurial entrepreneurship in Latin America in the Scopus database?
And so, the objectives of this investigation were:
General Objective
In order to answer the research questions posed in the introduction section and to fulfill the objectives, we chose to conduct a systematic review.
The process that is usually followed includes seven steps (Kitchenham, 2004):
As specified in the introductory section, the research questions are: What is the evidence of family support for successful entrepreneurship in Latin America in the Scopus database? in which scientific journals has evidence of family support for successful entrepreneurial entrepreneurship in Latin America been published in the Scopus database; in which geographical areas has evidence of family support for successful entrepreneurial entrepreneurship in Latin America been generated in the Scopus database; with what methodological approach has research evidencing family support for successful entrepreneurial entrepreneurship in Latin America been conducted in the Scopus database; what are the findings on family support for successful entrepreneurial entrepreneurship in Latin America in the Scopus database?
Database Search
(Petticrew & Roberts, 2006) recommend that database searches should be multiple, usingthe various existing names for the same phenomenon. Thus, two searches were carried out
Table 1 details each of the names associated with the same phenomenon, together with a code assigned by the researcher.
Table 1 Thematic Code and Search |
|
Thematic Code | Search |
---|---|
A | "Family" and "entrepreneurship" |
B | "Family" and "entrepreneur" |
It was deemed convenient to carry out searches in databases specialized in high-level scientific literature, in this case Scopus.
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
In order to obtain search results that respond to the research questions, in accordance with the PRISMA methodology (Liberati et al., 2009; Moher et al., 2009), inclusion and exclusion criteria were established.
Inclusion criteria:
Exclusion criteria:
Study Selection
The strategy for study selection was to adhere strictly to the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
The searches were carried out on January 1, 2021.
Two searches were performed in the Scopus database: one with subject code A ("Family" and "entrepreneurship") and the other with subject code B ("Family" and "entrepreneur").
The first search resulted in an initial 2,441 records, of which 6 final records were identifiedafter applying exclusion and inclusion criteria. As for the second search, the initial records amounted to 2,548 and the final ones to 4 (see Table 2).
Table 3 Evidence Identified |
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Code | Citation | Tittle |
---|---|---|
A1 | (Ferreira et al., 2018) | A look at women’s transition from formal labor to self-employment based on endogenous stimuli |
A2 | (Santos et al., 2020) | Individual absorptive capacity and entrepreneurial intention in successors of rural properties |
A3 | (Bandieri & Almaraz, 2020) | Business families in Southern Patagonia: from the end of the 19th Century to the first decades of 20th century |
A4 | (Alvarado Lagunas et al., 2018) | Factors that influence the continuity and survival of a micro-business in Mexico |
A5 | (Delfín Ruiz et al., 2020) | Family-functionality-strategy-for-the-generation-of- social-entrepreneurship-in-Mexico |
A6 | (Padovez-Cualheta et al., 2019) | An entrepreneurial career impacts on job and family satisfaction |
B1 | (Machado et al., 2013) | Creation of enterprises by women: a study with entrepreneurs in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte |
B2 | (Silva et al., 2016) | Microbusiness development and quality of life of Micro entrepreneurs’s families |
B3 | (Corrêa & Teixeira, 2015) | Entrepreneurial social networks to obtain resourcesand organizational legitimacy Multiple cases study with social entrepreneurs |
B4 | (Elizundia Cisneros, 2015) | New business performance: gender perspective |
In order to provide a better understanding of the study selection flow, it was deemed convenient to use the PRISMA diagram (Liberati et al., 2009; Moher et al., 2009), as shown in Figure 1.
The following data were identified:
Evidence Identified
Table 3 provides details of the evidence identified regarding family support for successful entrepreneurship in Latin America.
Table 4 Scientific Journals where the Identified Evidence was Published |
|
Code | Scientific journal |
---|---|
A1 | Revista de Administração Mackenzie |
A2 | Revista de Administração Mackenzie |
A3 | Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business |
A4 | Contaduría y Administración |
A5 | Revista Venezolana de Gerencia |
A6 | RAUSP Management Journal |
B1 | Revista de Administração Mackenzie |
B2 | Revista de Administração Mackenzie |
B3 | Revista de Administração Mackenzie |
B4 | Contaduría y Administración |
According to Table 3, a total of 10 search results were obtained in accordance with the research objectives, identifying the works of (Alvarado Lagunas et al., 2018; Bandieri & Almaraz, 2020; Corrêa & Teixeira, 2015; Delfín Ruiz et al., 2020; Elizundia Cisneros, 2015; Ferreira et al., 2018; Machado et al., 2013; Padovez-Cualheta et al., 2019; Santos et al., 2020; Silva et al., 2016).
Scientific Journals where the Identified Evidence was Published
Table 4 presents the Latin American scientific journals in which the scientific evidence was disclosed.
Table 5 Geographic Area from which the Scientific Evidence was Extracted |
||
Code | Country | Province or region |
---|---|---|
A1 | Brazil | Espírito Santo |
A2 | Brazil | Santa Catarina |
A3 | Chile | Punta Arenas (Southern Patagonia) |
A4 | Mexico | The whole country |
A5 | Mexico | Not identified |
A6 | Brazil | Not identified |
B1 | Brazil | Natal, Rio Grande do Norte |
B2 | Brazil | Minas Gerais |
B3 | Brazil | Aracaju, Sergipe |
B4 | Mexico | The whole country |
It is important to note that, according to Table 4, the vast majority of studies that refer to the role of the family in entrepreneurship were published in the Revista de Administração Mackenzie, Brazil.
Geographic Area from Which the Scientific Evidence was Extracted
Table 5 and Figure 2 present the geographic area from which the scientific evidence was extracted.
Table 6 Methodological Aspects of the Evidence Identified |
|||
Code | Approach | Level | Method and techniques |
A1 | Qualitative | Exploratory | An interview was conducted, followed by a narrative analysis of the responses of 12 female entrepreneurs ranging in age from 28 to 47 years. |
A2 | Quantitative | Explanatory | A survey of 84 rural crop successors was conducted, followed by a Kruskal- Wallis statistical analysis with Dunn's post hoc adjustment byBenjamini- FDR Hochberg's method, Spearman's correlation, and structural equation modeling with partial least squares estimation. |
A3 | Qualitative | Exploratory | A thorough biographical and historical examination was provided. Biographies, public records, directories, bulletins and yearbooks, personal letters, and specialized bibliography were used as primary and secondary sources. |
A4 | Quantitative | Descriptive | The authors analyzed documents published by ENAMIN in 2012, which is a national survey conducted by Mexico's statistical agency in charge of statistics. The findings include information on approximately 27,000 microenterprise owners, with 24,975 observations identified with data that allowed analysis of the family conditions that motivated entrepreneurship. |
A5 | Qualitative | Exploratory | An in-depth interview was conducted with a sample of 43 people from a decentralized public social assistance institution. |
A6 | Quantitative | Explanatory | Three questionnaires ("An Index of Job Satisfaction," "Family Satisfaction Scale," and "Interrole Conflict Scale") were used and electronically distributed to the target population, yielding a total of 101 valid observations. The data were coded and ordered before being subjected to statistical analysis using linear regression to validate or reject each of the authors' hypotheses. |
B1 | Quantitative | Descriptive | A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 96 female entrepreneurs. Data was analyzed and presented using descriptive statistics, linear correlation, and cluster analysis. |
B2 | Quantitative | Exploratory | A questionnaire was distributed to 250 people who applied for microcredits from a Brazilian banking institution. This questionnaire sought to learn about the respondents' profiles, their interactions with the credit market, information on economic activity and perceived changes following access to microcredit, as well as questions about changes in the respondents' families' quality of life. A survey was used as the method. |
B3 | Qualitative | Exploratory | Three research subjects were used in a multiple case study. Three entrepreneurs were chosen who founded social enterprises and are well- known in their cities for their high-level social work and management. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, and the conversations were recorded and later transcribed. The interviews' content was analyzed using the content analysis technique. |
B4 | Quantitative | Comparative | A questionnaire was distributed to 192 entrepreneurs, who are the ownersof businesses with fewer than 15 employees. Pearson's correlation, Pearson's Chi-square, and Student's T were used to identify significant differences in the motivations and influencing factors behind male andfemale entrepreneurship. |
According to Table 5, 60% of the evidence identified came from Brazil, 30% from Mexico and 10% from Chile. No evidence from other Latin American countries was found after the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Table 6 reports the methodological aspects of the evidence identified, clearly showing the approach, level, and statistical method and technique.
Table 7 Conclusions of the Evidence Identified |
|
Code | Conclusions |
---|---|
A1 | For the vast majority of respondents, family was the most powerful motivator for starting a business. Respondents who were new mothers found time flexibility to attend to their children due to the schedulesset in their ventures, allowing them to have their children close by. It was also discovered that the partner (who usually has a stable job and invests money) provides emotional support to the entrepreneur woman, who tries to show gratitude for the support by remaining consistent in the venture. |
A2 | Family succession is critical to the survival and success of land cultivation businesses in Santa Catarina (Brazil), which is why many landowners instill in their children a positive attitude toward the land they will inherit and manage one day. Young heirs, aware of the responsibility bestowed upon them, typicallypursue higher education to improve the productivity of the inherited farm in order to repay the family for the trust bestowed upon them. |
A3 | The family, as an organization, was critical for the first migrants from Punta Arenas to survive and grow in this strange environment. As the generations passed, the families with the most seniority became more influential in the community. |
A4 | The most common reasons for starting a microenterprise are to increase family income (22%), supplement family income (26%), and continue with the family business (6%). It is clear that, despite notactively participating in the entrepreneurship, the family is usually the primary motivator for those who decide to start a microenterprise. |
A5 | The findings revealed the presence of 711 quotations in the discourse of the research participants (mostly referring to "family support," "family communication," and "family structure"), demonstrating the presence of the family in entrepreneurship motivations. |
A6 | Entrepreneurship has a positive impact on job and family satisfaction, and entrepreneurs outperform non- entrepreneurs in this regard. |
B1 | According to the study, there are three main reasons for starting a business: the desire to earn a lot of money, dissatisfaction with previous work, and the desire to earn a specific amount of money. The most common barriers to starting a business were a lack of business experience, young children (family), a lack of time to participate in networks, and a difficulty obtaining start-up capital. However, a lack offunds is usually compensated for by family and friends. |
B2 | The business management factor was discovered to have a positive impact on media access, leisure, and quality of life. Access to media and leisure activities improves one's quality of life. When the variables used here are linked in a predicate form, they explain 54% of the change in the beneficiary families' quality of life. |
B3 | In the entrepreneurs' social networks, both weak and strong ties were observed. The strong ties were primarily between family members, friends, and professional colleagues. In terms of weak ties, public and private companies, as well as individual donors/collaborators, were mentioned. Strong ties, in particular, fostered practically all types of resources required for the conceptualization of the social organizations under consideration. Weak ties, on the other hand, promoted a large portion of the physical resources required by the organizations studied. |
B4 | Men and women have similar motivations for starting a business. In terms of the difficulty of starting a business, it was discovered that the initial capital required by women is significantly lower than that required by men. External financing is also typically lower for women than for men, owing to their credit history and pre-entrepreneurial income. It is concluded that in order to achieve parity in start-up capital, women seek family support, further strengthening their family ties. |
It is important to emphasize that, according to Table 6, there is no clearly defined trend regarding the way to explore the phenomenon of entrepreneurship facilitated by family support.
Conclusions of the Scientific Evidence Identified
Table 7 presents the conclusions of the scientific evidence identified.
Ten scientific evidences of family support for entrepreneurship success in Latin America were identified (Alvarado Lagunas et al., 2018; Bandieri & Almaraz, 2020; Corrêa & Teixeira, 2015; Delfn Ruiz et al., 2020; Elizundia Cisneros, 2015; Ferreira et al., 2018; Machado et al., 2013; Padovez-Cualheta e
The evidence gathered indicates that the cases are primarily from Brazil, and they are being published in the Revista de Administraço Mackenzie, which is positioning itself as the primary source of scientific dissemination in the research field.
Although no trend in relation to the methodological approach used to approach this thematic of studies was identified, it was possible to identify that regardless of this, information on how family support creates a motivating environment for the initiation or continuation of entrepreneurial activities can be obtained. This information is provided in greater detail below.
Family Support and Motivation to Initiate Entrepreneurial Activities
Sometimes, new mothers see entrepreneurship as a way to continue their entrepreneurial lives with more flexible schedules and the partner as emotional support (Ferreira et al., 2018). This research adds to the findings of (Delfn Ruiz et al., 2020; Padovez-Cualheta et al., 2019) that personal satisfaction is generated by feeling the support of one's family.
Although it is true that the difference in initial capital at the start of entrepreneurial activities is usually a barrier that leads to unfavorable financial results, it has been identified that family support through money loans is an alternative to which entrepreneurs turn (Corrêa & Teixeira, 2015; Elizundia Cisneros, 2015; Machado et al., 2013), generating feelings of gratification (Ferreira et al., 2018).
It is also natural for the individuals who comprise the family to seek the fulfillment of each of its members, motivating them to generate extra income through entrepreneurship in order to provide them with a better quality of life, as seen in the chaos exposed by (Alvarado Lagunas et al., 2018; Silva et al., 2016).
Family Support and Motivation towards Family Succession of Entrepreneurship
The search for scientific evidence also resulted in the identification of cases in which young people took over ventures begun by their parents and grandparents.
The case studied by (Santos et al., 2020) demonstrated how, in agricultural areas, descendants of the first settlers, aware of the great responsibility that comes with leading such crops in the future, seek to professionalize themselves in order to be ready to take over the familybusiness when the time comes. In this case, the children's gratitude to their forefathers for the trustplaced in them is palpable.
Similar cases are presented by (Bandieri & Almaraz, 2020), where the first landowners of Punta Arenas (Brazil) have managed to position their families as referents in the area, through the growth of their businesses by means of family inheritance.
This study was carried out and funded by the Universidad Señor de Sipán, within the framework of the work plan outlined in RR N° 016-2021/USS. The presented results are the result of the development of research project N° 3, which was approved with RR N° 038-2021/USS.