The culture of a particular firm includes numerous distinctive beliefs and behaviors. Close examination of those beliefs and behaviors will reveal various cultural patterns that help explain the way in which the firm functions.
W. Gibb Dyer, Jr., a professor at Brigham Young University, has identified a set
of cultural patterns that apply to three facets of family firms: the actual business, the
family, and the governance (board of directors) of the business.8 As illustrated in
Figure 7-3, the business pattern, the family pattern, and the governance pattern
form an overall cultural configuration that constitutes a family firm's total culture.
An example of a business pattern is a firm's system of beliefs and behaviors concerning the importance of quality. Members of an organization tend to adopt a common viewpoint concerning the extent to which effort, or even sacrifice, should be
devoted to customer service and product quality. When the leader of a firm consistently demonstrates a commitment to serving customers, he or she encourages others to appreciate the same values. Through decisions and practices that place a high
priority on customer service, therefore, the leader of a family business can build a
business pattern based on a strong commitment to producing high-quality goods
and services.
In the early stages of a family business, according to Dye; a common cultural configuration consists of a paternalistic business pattern, a patriarchal family pattern, and a rubber-stamp board of directors (governance pattern). This simply means that family relationships are more important than professional skills, that the founder is the undisputed head of the clan, and that the board automatically supports the founder's decisions.