1. Familipreneurship
A Comprehensive Approach of Entrepreneurship
SM Mijanur Rahman*
Corresponding Email: mizanbkb@gmail.com
Abstract: This paper is a conceptual argument to promote Familipreneurship as a comprehensive
approach of entrepreneurship. ‘Familipreneurship’ means entrepreneurship of a family as an
entrepreneurial unit, which enables them to transform their individual, and collective scattered
capitals (Financial, Human, Social, Knowledge, Cultural, and natural capitals) into performing
capitals to maximize wealth. This paper primarily investigated the power and capabilities of
indigenous business family those who are doing business from generation to generation without
any or less academic qualification or formal entrepreneurial education through observing for ten
years as part of professional responsibilities, then reviewed existing literature extensively to
construct a theoretical understanding and relates them with existing theories. Based on real life
experience and extensive literature reviews, this paper is both exploratory and explanatory
attempting to describe the notion of Familipreneurship and its implication. This paper showed
family ties are the crucial factor in family enterprise, and it is an attempt to outline the special
characteristics of Familipreneurship. Existing researcher are concentrated on the business hour
activities of family enterprise and individual aspects of entrepreneurs and ignore family dynamics
behind the shadow but Familipreneurship proposes families as a single unit and considered their
24*7 activities to solve the unresolved questions.
Key Words: Familipreneurship, Familiness, Social Capital, Family Enterprise
* SMMijanur Rahmanisa Bankingprofessional havingextensiveexperienceasbranchmanagerof both
publicandprivate bank.Presentlyworkingasbranchmanagerof a private commercial bank in
Bangladesh.
Introduction:
This paper is a conceptual argument to promote Familipreneurship as a comprehensive approach
of entrepreneurship. ‘Familipreneurship’ means entrepreneurship of a family as an entrepreneurial
unit, which enables them to transform their individual, and collective scattered capitals (Financial,
Human, Social, Knowledge, Cultural, and natural capitals) into performing capitals to maximize
wealth. Familipreneurship denotes entrepreneurship of a family as an entrepreneurial unit, which
enables them to transform their individual and collective scattered capitals into performing capitals
to maximize wealth (Rahman, 2011). Familipreneurship refers to the entrepreneurial spirit running
through the family as a whole and not just confined to a single individual. The promotion of
Familipreneurship will create a natural environment of transferring inherited knowledge, skill and

2. important lesson and experience across the generations. This courageous collective effort will
enable them to be blended together to reach their goals. Familipreneurship is an interactive and
evolving phenomenon. Internal relationships (bonding), relations with other communities
(bridging) and relations with their natural and institutional environment (linkage) are the largest
social capital of humanity, which remains mostly unused, even undetected. Familipreneurship
intends to utilize social capitals through the matrix relationships of individuals and family with
society, nation, and the world. Utilization of social capitals would accelerate the process of wealth
optimization through maximizing performing capitals by accumulating scattered and unused
resources for shaping the future towards an entrepreneurial planet.
Human civilization cannot exist without the family. Family is not a place; it is an institution. Whole
is greater than the sum of its parts; a group is more powerful than the sum of same individuals. As
a group, internal bondage among the family members are highly defined and often determined by
moral obligation. Kinship is the largest social capital, which is the foundation of our social life.
Family as an entity is the oldest, largest in number, longest in existence organization of human
history. Families are unique among social systems (Giudice,Peruta, and Carayannis 2011) and
future generations carry on their ancestor’s knowledge and experience of togetherness both
culturally and arguably, genetically. Ties within a family is so powerful, effective and long lasting
that family as an organization throughout the history exists without any oral or written constitution
or standard norms. Matrix relations among the family members enable them to combine and best
utilize their personal and collective capitals. Surprisingly, little study has been made of the family’s
role. (Heck et al., 2006). Aldrich and Cliff (2003) have more equally focused on both the family
and business (Stafford et al., 1999).

3. Researches on Family Enterprise showed family enterprises outperform than non-family
counterpart (Morck and Yeung 2004) but the reasons are still unknown (Stanley 2010. Family
business literature has developed the term familiness to denote the set of resources and capabilities
to differentiate between family and non-family business (Habbershon & Williams, 1999; Pearson,
Carr & Shaw, 2008 ; Moores and Craig 2005; Nordqvist 2005a). Sources and types of familiness
are yet to be understood (Chrisman et al. 2005b). However, Familiness deals with the business
activities of a business family but Familipreneurship deals with the 24/7 activities of a family from
socio-economic perspective as a concept unto itself. It also suggests that promoting
Familipreneurship will inherently promote our indigenous knowledge and culture from generation
to generation creating social capital.
Methods/Methodology:
A field study was conducted in Chak Bazar, Dhaka and Khatunganj, Chittagong the two largest
wholesale markets in Bangladesh and closely observed as part of their business process for a period
of ten years. Characteristics of the venture creation experience are examined, and underlying
dimensions are analyzed and empirically investigated. In-depth interviews were held with the
founders of family enterprise and other members of that family with subsequent follow-up visits.
Collected subjective experiences and data were analyzed objectively and closely monitored
enterprise creation and development process. Long discussion and interaction were held to capture
the experiences of the family members that have rarely been addressed in entrepreneurship
(Gartner & Birley, 2002).
An iterative ‘back and forth’ approach between data and existing theories (Van Maanen et al. 2007)
followed. This method of comparison (Eisenhardt, 1989) and inductive theory building as evidence
is accumulated overtime. In line with Charmaz’s (2006) explanation of the social constructionist

4. approach to theorizing reality is not considered as singular and concrete, thus insights into what
the entrepreneurs believe is real for them were sought. By focusing on the real-life experiences of
the entrepreneurs in context of family enterprise creation, it becomes possible to provide enough
evidence using both “power and proof” quotes (Pratt, 2008). Thus, rather than using deductive
reasoning to formulate hypotheses, an explicit aim was to develop insights from the subjective
experience with objective data in line with existing theory.
Discussions:
Findings show that the major portions of surveyed markets are dominated by ‘Kuttis’ and
‘Sowdagors’ (‘Kutti’ and ‘Sawdagar’ are called locally to some indigenous business families).
They are mostly illiterate but uphold strong entrepreneurial knowledge and skills inherited from
their families/ancestors. Therefore, they are dominating the context from generation to generation.
Most of them do not have any formal entrepreneurial education or training; only reason behind
their success is Familipreneurship; entrepreneurship gained through family environment. Their
practical knowledge of enterprise is gathered through ‘doing’, although even the exceptions do not
complete their secondary level education, and then starts enterprise or venture with other family
members. In many cases founder of a family enterprise did not have any formal education let alone
enterprise education, but they did very well in their job. Once a family enterprise is created, the
next generation carries this on because of inherent Familipreneurship. If next generation fails to
carry on, then easily they can start their alternatives because of their entrepreneurial qualities
created through Familipreneurship.
This paper primarily examined the concept of Familipreneurship and its uniqueness based on
secondary data then investigated the power and capabilities of indigenous business families those
who are doing business from generation to generation without any or less academic qualification

5. or formal entrepreneurial education to relate the notion of Familipreneurship. Based on real life
experience and extensive literature reviews, this paper is both exploratory and explanatory
extended attempt to describe the notion of Familipreneurship.
Thus, this paper intends to fill the existing gap in entrepreneurship literature and serves its purpose
by affirming the economic value of relationship, which is our largest social capital and usually
ignored in business perspective. Familipreneurship refers to the entrepreneurial spirit running
through the family as a whole and not just confined to a single individual. This paper showed
family ties are the crucial factor in family enterprise, and it is an attempt to outline the special
characteristics of Familipreneurship and suggest some recommendation for promoting
Familipreneurship and institutionalization of Familipreneurship Education.
Conclusion:
The purpose of this paper is to create intellectual debate affirming the existence of Indigenous
knowledge and skills of the families that has been largely ignored in our social system as well as
in existing entrepreneurship literature. Nicholson, Woods, and Henare (2012) examined the family
business concept in Aotearoa New Zealand and agreed that relationship has its economic value.
The promotion of Familipreneurship will create a natural environment of transferring inherited
knowledge, skill and important lesson and experience across the generations. This courageous
collective effort will enable them to be blended together to reach their goals. Promoting The family
behind the family enterprise significantly influences the behavior of the family enterprise and
family entrepreneurs. Family as a group is more capable of creating new and develop existing
family enterprise including other forms of enterprises. Study on Familipreneurship will enrich our
knowledge through discovering unknown dimensionality of family ventures and open a new
perspective on a comprehensive approach to entrepreneurship. Familipreneurship will

6. substantially contribute to materialize the UN declaration of integrating families with post15
development agendas.
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