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This article presents a systematic review of strategy research in Africa. The quantity of management research in general and strategy research in particular is growing on the continent, though from a low level. It is, however, characterized by a strong focus on South Africa and Ghana, hence not reflecting the cultural and economic diversity of the continent in detail. This review consists of 161 articles. The review found that research on strategy-performance relationship dominates the field. The cultural context and how it may influence strategy and strategy-making is still not well addressed. The article ends by suggesting future research directions based on the identified gaps.

Management innovations are an important source of competitive advantage, but we lack knowledge on the implementation process, not least in small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Recognising that psychological ownership (PO) represents a crucial aspect of the implementation process, we address micro-foundational characteristics of the implementation process. PO and critical incident theory (CIT) provide a lens enabling this micro analysis. The empirical setting is the implementation of Hoshin Kanri, a strategic management system in eight small companies. From the analysis of the eight cases, we operationalise four dimensions that characterise how PO evolves in the implementation process: types of PO incidents, frequency of PO incidents, incidents indicating an increase or decrease in PO, and incidents addressing individual or collective PO. Looking at how PO is developed both among CEOs and managers in SMEs, we use the four dimensions to characterise the evolvement of PO within the focal organisations. In doing so, our article elaborates on PO as a driver and, if insufficiently developed, an impediment to effectively implementing management innovations.

In this commentary, we focus on invented corporate heritage, where organizations present falsified accounts of a corporate past. The extant corporate heritage literature has highlighted how the time frames of the past, present and future (omni temporality) are merged in those organizations where there is trait constancy. Focusing on invented corporate heritage, we argue that this represents an extreme case of these dialectics, where present and future precede “the past”, or more appropriately “invented past”. Although lacking in authenticity, an invented corporate heritage may still be attractive to consumers since it can construct an aura of authenticity by delivering an enchanting experience to consumers, irrespective of its substantive genuineness. However, such inventions carry considerable risk since they represent a fabrication of the past.

Family firms incorporate two identities, namely the identity of the firm and the identity of the family. Previous literature assumes that the owning family influences the identity of the firm by transferring the values and beliefs of the owners to the firm. However, identity theory suggests that identity formation is a dynamic process, based on iterations with the environment and interpretations of the past identity. In family firms this means that identity of the family can also be influenced by the firm. In this longitudinal study of a multi-generational family firm, we draw from identity literature to explore how the interplay between the business and the family identity can take place in a family firm. Our observations suggest that the identity of the firm can influence identity processes on various levels and that this is not necessarily beneficial for the family. Our study thus contributes to the understanding of identity issues in family firms., Special Issue: "From Family Identity to Family Firm Image and Reputation: Exploring Facets of the Perception of Family Influence in Branding, Marketing, and Other Messaging"

As an activity, entrepreneurship has been praised for its ability to create jobs in both developed and developing countries. Besides, nowadays the concern for environmental and others social issues are becoming equally competing with the employment creation issues. It has been argued that in a world of finite resources, the ‘business case’ for sustainability is not enough, businesses also need to consider the ‘social case’ which takes the social inequality and environmental degradation in to account. Parrish argues that this would help the sustainable entrepreneurship to slow down the rate of harm. This concern highlights on the importance of sustainable entrepreneurship. Sustainable entrepreneurship focuses on solving societal and environmental problems through realizing successful business. In such a process, a variety of stakeholder interests needs to be taken into account, without threatening the viability of the business. However sustainable entrepreneurship goes beyond sacrificing economic gain for being more sustainable. In fact, concern for sustainability helps creating entrepreneurial opportunities that businesses can use strategically to create competitive advantage over industry peers. As the realization of opportunities is at the heart of entrepreneurial activities (Shane & Venkataraman 2000), entrepreneurs can leverage sustainability in a way that addresses social and environmental needs while at the same time contributing to financial success. In the present paper we are going to investigate businesses in the Ethiopian tourism industry to find out how they integrate sustainability in the realization of entrepreneurial opportunities. Conducting qualitative case study on multiple ventures, we are going to answer the following research questions: 1) What attitude do entrepreneurs in the Ethiopian tourism industry have towards sustainability? 2) How do they engage in multi-stakeholder collaborations to make their ventures more sustainable? 3) How do th

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to explore the consequences for family businesses and the owning families, when the owners decide to give up the family connection in the name of the business. In family firms, the owner family is often very openly and visibly connected to the firm. This close interconnectedness of family and business is often seen as source for both strength and weaknesses of family businesses (Brunninge, 2017; Tagiuri & Davis, 1996). Moreover, recent research has identified the past as a source for value (Balmer, 2011; Urde, Greyser & Balmer, 2007). Even family firms can draw on their history, developing their heritage (Blombäck & Brunninge, 2013). Connecting family heritage to the heritage of the firm involves opportunities from a branding perspective, but it also includes risk as the family and its members are exposed to more attention from external audiences (Brunninge, 2017). Therefore, an interesting question arises, concerning what happens when a business gives up branding itself as a family business. How is identity affected, when the family brand is replaced by a brand not alluding to family ownership? To what extent does this imply that the ties with the firm’s and the family’s heritage are cut? Design/Methodology/Approach: This study follows a case study approach. The focal company is a third generation family business, started in 1951. The company acquired another firm in 2011. In 2016, the owners decided to give up the traditional family brand and only use the brand of the acquired firm for their operations. The case study draws on interviews with representatives of both companies as well as archival study of both. Findings: The data collection for the study is still in progress. We expect the findings to show to what extent elements of family heritage and corporate heritage survive the decision to give up the family name in a family business and how members of the owning family Practical implications: Family businesses

The chapter explores the opportunities and risks associated with addressing family heritage in the context of corporate heritage branding. Family businesses are particularly interesting for the communication of corporate heritage , as the heritage of the company and that of the owner family are usually closely connected. Firms communicating their corporate heritage often aim at assuring stakeholders that central traits of the company will endure even in the future. Such trait constancy can become embodied, reinforced, and extended by the inclusion fo family heritage. However family heritage can become a liability when stakeholders discover negative traits in the family's past.

The main owners of the Swedish famly firm Melker Schörling AB (MSAB) have made an offer to the minority owners to repurchase their shares. The intention is to delist MSAB from the stock exchange. It is not uncommon that owning families choose to delist their firms from the stock exchange. One reaseon to do so is that being listed may have negative implications for the socioemotional wealth (SEW) of the owners. Family owners need to consider both financial wealth and socioemotional wealth in their corporate governance decisions.

The present paper addresses how heritage brands can survive and develop in highly changing political and economic contexts. Examining the case of the Latvian Confectionary Brand Laima, I discuss how the brand relates back to two periods of Latvian independence and two periods of Russian/Soviet/German occupation from 1870-2016.

Path dependence is a promising and increasingly popular perspectivefor analysing long-term historical developments in firms, industriesor referring to other units of analysis. A central assumption is thatpaths can narrow down as a result of self-reinforcing processesthat eventually result in a lock-in that is difficult, if at all possible, toreverse. Typically, path dependence is investigated relating to onepath on a specific unit of analysis, e.g. an organization. The presentarticle explores how different paths on different levels of analysis caninfluence each other. Empirically, we use the long-term developmentof the Swedish pulp and paper company MoDo as the focal level ofanalysis. The organizational level paths are then related to paths onthe field level of the Swedish pulp and paper industry and to pathsrepresented by individual owner-managers’ ways of thinking. Weconceptualize the dynamic interplay between paths by elaboratingon processes of path-spreading, path-breaking, path-convergenceand path-divergence.

Current research commonly investigates two different growth strategies, organic growth and growth by acquisitions. Studies on acquisition-based growth typically draw on cross-sectional quantitative studies of large US-based firms, treating all types of acquisitions as one mode. Our study takes a different approach, and explores different growth strategies of a smaller sample of medium-sized companies drawing on a longitudinal, qualitative design. This research design allows us to identify eight different growth modes. Thereby, we illustrate that dynamic growth processes in medium-sized firms are much more diverse and complex than commonly assumed.

In this chapter, we explore the impact of socioemotional and financial wealth on the resource management of family firms. We use MoDo, a Swedish pulp and paper firm, covering three generations of owner-managers from 1873 to 1991, to grasp the shifting emphases on socioemotional and financial wealth in the management of the company. Identifying four strategic issues of decisive importance for the development of MoDo, we analyze the organizational values that guided the management of these issues. We propose that financial and socioemotional wealth stand for two different rationalities that infuse organizational values. The MoDo case illustrates how these rationalities go hand in hand for extended periods of time, safeguarding both financial success and socioemotional endowments. However, in a situation where the rationalities are no longer in line with the development of the industry context, the conflict arising between the two rationalities may have fatal consequences for the firm in question.