A paper authored by two Washington and Lee University professors looks into how family ownership plays a role in the operations of small and medium size business enterprises in Egypt.
The paper, “Family Ownership and Institutional Voids: Evidence from SMEs in Egypt,” published in Critical Perspectives on International Business Journal, was written by W&L professors Pooja Thakur-Wernz and Aliaa Bassiouny with professor Maha ElShinnawy from the American University in Cairo (Egypt).
The paper investigates how family ownership shapes the ability of Egyptian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to navigate deficiencies in formal institutions and maintain positive development. Thakur-Wernz and Bassiouny’s research efforts included a multi-case methodology involving an in-depth interview process with five family- owned Egyptian SMEs. The researchers subsequently analyzed these conversations using a structured qualitative method, known as the Gioia framework, to understand how business owners navigate the challenges posed by weak institutions.
Thakur-Wernz and Bassiouny cited the Lenfest Summer Grants program that enabled their fieldwork in Egypt, as well as the transcription of the interview data.
Thakur-Wernz teaches courses in global strategy and strategic management and researches the role of emerging economies in the global business landscape. Her teaching and research interests lie at the intersection of strategic management and international business.
Bassiouny has served as a member of the W&L faculty since 2019. She teaches courses in managerial finance, investments and multinational business finance and her research interests revolve around investments and empirical market microstructure with a focus on emerging markets.
