In Flanders glasshouse vegetables and
ornamental plants are typically produced at family
businesses. At this type of businesses the objectives and
long-term firm developments are influenced by the so
called ‘family-firm life cycle’. In many cases the firm
shows a life cycle that corresponds with the life cycle of
the entrepreneur. The objective of the paper is to test
the hypothesis that the ‘family-firm life cycle’ will have
an impact on the personal and business characteristics,
objectives and the quality of the management processes
involved in sustainable glasshouse horticulture. As
sustainable horticulture integrates the three P’s (People,
Planet, Profit) special attention is paid to human
resource, environmental and financial management.
Data for the research are based on interviews and
accounting data at 138 glasshouse holdings situated in
Flanders (northern part of Belgium). The results reveal
that the glasshouse managers in the different phases of
the ‘family-firm life cycle’ show significant differences
in age, education level and numbers of seminars
attended. The economic dimension, modernity of
durable goods, solvency and investment pattern of the
firms in the different stages of the ‘family-firm life cycle’
also show significant differences. At the older businesses
the availability of a successor has an important
influence. The results confirm the hypothesis that the
objectives and the quality of the management processes
involved in environmental, human resource and
financial management are dependent on the phase in the
‘family-firm life cycle’. In the early stages firm
managers are more ambitious and attach a higher
importance to the management processes involved in
sustainable development. In the later stages the
availability of a successor has an important influence.
Unexpectedly no significant influence of the phase in the
‘family-firm life cycle’ on the income obtained per
familial labour unit is found. The insights derived from
this research have important implications both for
research and practice. They can enable glasshouse
growers and advisers to take and/or support correct
decisions and may help policy makers to differentiate on
the base of the ‘family-firm life cycle’.
