Approximately two thirds of all business enterprises in the United States are classified as small businesses. The great majority of these firms, regardless of the form of business organization (sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation) are family owned. These firms account for approximately 40 percent of the employment of human resources in the American economy and generate approximately one third of the nation's gross national product (GNP).
During a period of unprecedented change in the American economy (the pursuit of North American free trade, expanding the markets for American products in Asia, a changing American workforce, and so forth), American business enterprises must also change if they are to remain viable. Those business organizations that are most resistant to change are the small, family owned firms. Considering the significance of such firms to the American economy, ways must be found to cause small, family owned businesses to become more open to the need for and the implementation of change.
This study examined resistance to change in small, family owned business firms in the United States. The research questions investigated through the conduct of this study were as follows:
1. What are the primary sources of or factors involved in the resistance to change in small, family owned business firms? 2. What strategies may be employed to successfully overcome resistance to change in small, family owned business firms?
Research hypotheses were formulated and tested in relation to each of the research questions. These hypotheses were stated as follows:
1. It is hypothesized that the primary sources of and factors involved in the resistance to change in small, family owned business firms are (1) authoritarian managerial practices, and (2) mechanistic organizational structures.
2. It is hypothesized that the strategies that will be most effective in overcoming the resistance to change in ...