The effectiveness of university-based family business programs: The relationship between program attributes and performance

Family businesses are increasingly vital to the U.S. economy, accounting for more than 90% of all U.S. businesses. University-based family business programs represent a growing resource of continuing education for business-owning families. Given the absence of any empirical studies of family business program performance, very little is known about the impact of various structures or attributes on program performance.; This study involves the analysis of established family business programs from the perspectives of member firms, sponsoring firms and directors. Key program attributes are related to stakeholder expectations, satisfaction and perceptions of program quality. Results indicate that members, sponsors and directors expect largely the same things of a family business program--primarily opportunities to share experiences and access to family business experts. Expectations of directors and sponsors are significantly greater than those of members. Members were the only stakeholder group to report that their overall expectations have been exceeded. The data offer support for the use of ALLQUAL and ALLSAT as family business program performance measures, based on their simplicity compared to the SERVQUAL method. Findings also support the conclusion that perceived program quality significantly moderates member satisfaction.; Among the program attributes evaluated in this study, the level of personalized service provided by the program had the strongest link with member perceptions of overall program quality. Five program attributes were identified as significantly linked to members' quality perceptions: (1) Personalized services provided by the program; (2) Opportunities provided for members to share experiences; (3) Help with family issues; (4) Help with business issues; (5) Access to family business experts.; Equally interesting was the finding of several program attributes with no significant links to perceived program quality or member satisfaction: (1) Budget size; (2) Program age; (3) Program governance structure; (4) Number of events held annually; (5) Total member contact hours; (6) Director's status.; Results indicate that family business program membership has at least some positive links with member behavior.