Family Relationships – A Factor for Family Business Survival and Growth in the Food and Beverage Industry

This thesis is focused on the family relationships as a factor for the survival and growth of family business in the food and beverage industry in Trinidad and Tobago. Family business within the context of Trinidad and Tobago is of immense economic and civil importance. They function within a political system that emphasises development in terms of oil and gas exploitation with large multinational corporations, the focus of this strategy. Research advises that only a small percentage of family businesses survive to the third generation. However, in Trinidad and Tobago, some family businesses survive and continue to grow. As such, research on the factors that have nurtured and propelled this growth is of tremendous importance. Existing research on family business was found to be primarily based within family organisations outside of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region. The literature advises that the key characteristic that distinguishes family from other types of businesses is the influence of the family relationships in the business. This research is important as there is limited research on family business in Trinidad and Tobago or even within the Caribbean Region. In addition, few researchers have specifically located their research on the family relationships in family business and less within the food and beverage industry in Trinidad and Tobago. The research was based on interviews with the owners of six family organisations in Trinidad and Tobago and was supported by documented evidence of each organisation’s history as a means of acknowledging each business report to be discovered and understood. Content analysis supported by N’Vivo 10, guided the coding and analysis of data to identify common patterns and themes from both within-case and across the six cases. The findings from this research advise that the family relationships is a key factor in family business survival and growth in the food and beverage industry. The conclusion of the research is presented as an indicative model -The Family Relationship Framework, aimed at providing an agenda for further research.