The 17 PROPAT Characteristics
- A willingness to change and take risks
- Acceptance of interdependence
- Trust
- Seeking absolute not relative advantage
- Long-term Commitment
- Capacity to learn
- Communication
- Coordination
- Flexibility
- Objective self assessment
- Active membership in social networks
- Awareness about alliances
- Ability to resolve conflict
- Patience
- People before structure
- Loyalty to existing members
- Thrift
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The people or the business?
People before structure
Family businesses are renowned to rely on key individuals, usually the founders of the business, who tend to foster strong personal ties with employees and other stakeholders in the business.
Personal relationships are given more importance than formal structures and hierarchies are usually flat giving employees easy and uncomplicated access to management and owners (Roesl 2005).
Roessl (2005) identifies both negative and positive effects of this characteristic on alliance formation behaviour. On the positive side, a focus on interpersonal relationships promotes a willingness to grant interpersonal trust, which is essential in any cooperative arrangement, as is the ability to resolve conflict. It also helps to make the relationship flexible, another important pre-requisite of alliance success. However, it can also make the alliance decision more difficult to reach since it may necessitate the consensus of the entire family team.
The dependence of the business on a key individual may also be a deterrent to prospective partners, particularly if the individual in question is approaching retirement and there is no formal succession plan in place.