New Report sheds Light on the Community Impact of Family Businesses
16TH NOVEMBER 2020
The latest IFB Research Foundation report, Family Business and Community Engagement, by researchers from the University of York, provides new insights into the ways UK family businesses work to support their communities.
Much is known about the contribution of family businesses to the UK economy – they produce 31 per cent of the UK’s GDP and account for over half of employees in the UK private sector. Although it is generally accepted family firms play an important role in their communities, there has been far less research about the social and community impact of family firms.
With their long-term outlook, family businesses are well positioned to develop strong partnerships with communities and community organisations. As the new research shows, these partnerships not only benefit the communities themselves, but also provide real upsides for family businesses too - through enhanced trust and reputation, and providing opportunities for the personal and the professional development of employees and family members.
The study reveals that effective community engagement requires leadership, time and resources, a genuine commitment to making a difference, and a willingness for a sustained and long-term effort, all commonly found in family businesses.
The insights from this report can help family businesses plan their community engagement activities, and inform the work of policy-makers and community organisations, providing an understanding of how family businesses operate and engage with their communities.
KEY FINDINGS:
Impact is particularly strong where a sustainable, long-term relationship between the business and the community has been established and in areas of economic decline;
Community engagement activities in a family business are driven by family values;
The main challenges identified by family firms were finding time and freeing up the necessary resources to support community engagement activities.
The report also presents new practice guidance which family businesses can draw on when planning or reviewing their community activities; for example,
Community engagement requires leadership, a genuine commitment to make a difference, a willingness to engage in a sustained and long-term effort
Having an impact depends on cultivating robust partnership with communities and community-based organisations;
Businesses should raise awareness of what they are doing by measuring, documenting, and reporting their community engagement activities.