Functional strategies and practices of small and medium‐sized family businesses

PurposeThe aim of this study is to determine the context of short‐ , medium‐ and long‐term functional strategies of small‐ and middle‐sized family businesses carrying on activities in different sectors, as well as to discuss the findings from the point of view of the strategic orientations required by global competition.Design/methodology/approachThe data of this research, having explorative characteristics, were gathered from the 36 owners‐managers (from 111 people) who were leaders in constituting the strategies of their businesses. The survey used in the study consists of 32 items regarding management/human resource management, marketing, production, and finance functions. The data were evaluated with the descriptive and variance analyses.FindingsThe paper finds that the enterprises participating in this study apply or plan to apply, in the short term, institutionalism and customer‐focused strategies. However, financial problems limit the attempts for developing and growing, which creates a risk for the life cycle of the businesses which cannot grow up to the right scale in the right time. Another major concern pointed out in this study is that the enterprises whose owners/managers are the members of any commercial and social organization respond to innovations and change more rapidly.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the main limitations of the study is that the owner/manager perceptions were the only source of data. The lack of a measure of the efficiency level of functional strategies and practices or performance of enterprises is the second limitation. On the other hand, the small sample size does not allow generalizations to be made.Originality/valueThis study evaluates the potential of strategic management of small and medium‐sized family businesses