Business Network Effect on the Institutionalization of Family Businesses in South Eastern Nigeria

The Federal government has put in place several measures aimed at reducing the bottle necks associated with doing business in Nigeria. In spite of these measures, family businesses in South Eastern Nigeria are still characterized by organizational and administrative inefficiencies. These inefficiencies are associated with their organizational work procedures and practices. Therefore, this study is premised on the mitigating effect of institutionalization on such inefficiencies and the commonplaceness of business network in South Eastern Nigeria. The study seeks to examine the effect of business network on the institutionalization of family businesses in South Eastern Nigeria. Survey design and proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques were adopted. The generated data through questionnaire were subjected to Z-test. The result shows that business network has significant effect on the institutionalization of family businesses in South Eastern Nigeria. The study brings to the fore the contribution of business network to family business institutionalization. It recommends more awareness creation and training for founder/CEOs and further researches into other causes of the inefficiencies.

Keywords: Business network, Institutionalization, Family business, Founder/CEO