Alexandra Dawson

Alexandra Dawson joined the John Molson School of Business in 2009 after obtaining a PhD in Management and Business Administration from Bocconi University (Milan, Italy), where she was also a post-doctoral fellow, and an MSc Econ from the London School of Economics (London, UK). As of April 2018 she holds Concordia University's CIBC Distinguished Professorship in Entrepreneurship and Family Business. In 2015-16 she was a visiting scholar in the Department of Strategy and General Management at ESADE (Barcelona, Spain). She received a Dean's Award for Distinguished Scholarship in 2014. She is an Associate Editor for Journal of Family Business Strategy and is on the Review Board for Family Business Review.

Alexandra's research interests are at the intersection of entrepreneurship and family business. She is interested in how individual decision making and behaviour drive firm-level outcomes. In family businesses she studies entrepreneurial decision making as it relates to succession, with organizational commitment, history, trust and communication playing key roles, as well as to opening up to private equity investors, who can help the family transition whilst funding business growth. Her recent research is also about the role that founders continue to play in young public firms and the effect of gender in entrepreneurship and top management teams.

As the director of the Concordia Small Business Consulting Bureau, Alexandra coordinates a group of select MBA students offering business consulting services to entrepreneurs and business owners. In 2014-17 she was the founding director of the National Bank Initiative in Entrepreneurship and Family Business. She was responsible for setting up and running the Initiative, providing research funding to faculty and students in the areas of entrepreneurship and family business, organizing speaker events, and working with JMSB's Entrepreneurs in residence.

Prior to academia, Alexandra was a manager with a strategy consulting firm in London, UK. In that role, she oversaw projects providing strategy advice to corporate clients and investment support (strategic due diligence) to private equity firms evaluating the commercial viability of potential investments.

Education

• PhD, Universita' Bocconi
• MSc, London School of Economics
• 'Laurea' (equivalent to Master's), Università degli Studi di Palermo

Areas of expertise

• Entrepreneurship
• Family Business
• Private Equity

Teaching activities

Mana 480 Entrepreneurial Family Business (UG)

Mana 482 Financing Entrepreneurial Ventures (UG)

Mana 499 Special Topics in Management: Developing the next generation of family business leaders. JMSB International Summer School, recipient of the 2017 Premio Venezia, Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada (academic category) Mana 683 Entrepreneurship (MBA)

Mba 660 Small Business Consulting Bureau (MBA)

Publications

Refereed journal articles

Chadwick, I.C. & Dawson, A. (2018) Women leaders and firm performance in family businesses: An examination of financial and nonfinancial outcomes. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 9(4): 238-249.

Dawson, A. & Barredy, C. (2018) Private equity investment in family firms: The role of stake size and deal syndication. Venture Capital, doi.org/10.1080/13691066.2018.1516358.

Dawson, A., Paeglis, I. & Basu, N. (2017) Founder as steward or agent? A study of founder ownership and firm value. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 42(6): 886-910. https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/984433/1/Dawson_Paeglis_Basu_2018.pdf.

Parada, M.J. & Dawson, A. (2017). Building family business identity through transgenerational narratives. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 30(3): 344-356.

Sharma, P., Debicki B.J., Dawson, A. & Kellermanns, F.W. (2017). Editorial: Behavioural issues in family enterprises. International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, 16(1/2): 1-12.

Hjorth, D. & Dawson, A. (2016) The burden of history in the family business organization. Organization Studies, 37(8): 1089-1111. http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/980912/1/Hjorth%20%26%20Dawson%20_OrgSt_2016.pdf

Dawson, A., Sharma, P., Irving, P.G., Marcus, J., & Chirico, F. (2015) Predictors of later generation family members’ commitment to family enterprises. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(3), 545-569. http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/978746/1/Dawson_et_al_ETP_in_press.pdf

Dawson, A., Irving, P.G., Sharma, P., Chirico, F., & Marcus, J. (2014) Behavioral outcomes of next generation family members' commitment to their firm. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 23(4): 570-581. http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/978747/1/Dawson_et_al_EJWOP_2014.pdf Dawson, A & Mussolino, D (2014) Exploring what makes family firms different: Discrete or overlapping constructs in the literature? Journal of Family Business Strategy, 5(2): 169-183. http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/978750/1/Dawson_and_Mussolino_JFBS_2014.pdf Dawson, A. & Hjorth, D. (2012) Advancing family business research through narrative analysis, Family Business Review, 25(3): 339-355. http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/974637/4/Dawson_%26_Hjorth_FBR_2012.pdf

Dawson, A. (2012) Human capital in family businesses: Focusing on the individual level. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 3(1): 3-11. http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/973655/1/Dawson_JFBS_2012.pdf

Dawson, A. (2011) Private equity investment decisions in family firms: The role of human resources and agency costs. Journal of Business Venturing, 26(2): 189-199. http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/977300/1/Dawson_JBV_2011.pdf

Book chapters

Dawson, A. & Parada, M.J. (2019). Corporate governance in family businesses across generations: Exploring intergenerational issues, in Memili, E. & Dibrell, C. (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Heterogeneity Among Family Firms (pp. 115-139), Palgrave MacMillan, Basingstoke, UK.

Dawson, A., Parada M. J., & Gimeno, A. (Forthcoming). Growth through innovation and internationalization:Exploring the role of family business identity through narrative analysis. In: Kammerlander, N. & De Massis, A. (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods for Family Business, Edward Elgar.

Dawson, A. (Forthcoming) Financial performance and corporate reputation in family firms: Is it about being good or being known?, in Colli, A., D’Allura, G.M., Faraci, R. & Goel, S. (Eds.) Family firms and institutional contexts: Business models, innovation and competitive advantage (pp. 115-139), Edward Elgar Publishing.

Dawson, A. & Parada, M.J. (2019). Corporate governance in family businesses across generations: Exploring intergenerational issues, in Memili, E. & Dibrell, C. (Eds.), Heterogeneity among Family Firms, Palgrave MacMillan, Basingstoke, UK.

Chadwick, I. & Dawson, A. (2018) Women in leadership and family firm performance, in D’Allura, G.M. & Faraci, R. (Eds.) Governance delle Imprese Familiarie e Traiettorie di Crescita. Internazionalizzazione, Innovazione e Contesti Istituzionali (pp. 99-105), Franco Angeli, Italy (in Italian). http://ojs.francoangeli.it/_omp/index.php/oa/catalog/book/301.

Parada, M.J. & Dawson, A. (2017) Exploring institutional entrepreneurship in developing countries. Co-preneurs in the tourism industry: A Bolivian case, in Ramirez-Pasillas, M., Brundin, E., & Markowska, M. (Eds.), Contextualizing Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies and Developing Economies (pp. 194-210), Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.

Dawson, A. (2014) A look into the future: What is the next generation of family business scholars focusing on?, in Melin, L., Nordqvist, M., & Sharma, P. (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Family Business (pp. 629-642), Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/980913/1/ADawson_A%20look%20into%20the%20future.pdf

Dawson, A. & Valentini, G. (2013) Acquisition and diversification behaviour in large family firms, in Smyrnios, K.X., Poutziouris, P.Z., & Goel, S. (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Family Business (pp. 719-733), 2nd Edition, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK.

Corbetta, G. & Dawson, A. (2011) Innovation and R&D policies in Italy. In Mian, S. (Ed.), Science and Technology Based Regional Entrepreneurship: Global Experience in Policy and Program Development (pp. 125-142), Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.

Valentini, G. & Dawson, A. (2010) Beyond knowledge bases: Towards a better understanding of the effects of M&A on technological performance. In Finkelstein, S. & Cooper, C.L. (Eds.), Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions (pp. 177-197), Volume 9, Emerald Books, Bingley, UK.

Corbetta, G. & Dawson, A. (2007) Relationship-based and market-based models of interaction between private equity and family firms. In Cafferata, R. (Ed.), Industria e Finanza in Italia (pp. 247-261), Il Mulino (in Italian).

Dawson, A. & Lassini, U. (2005) External environment and growth of family firms. In Corbetta, G. (Ed.), Capaci di Crescere (pp. 227-253), Egea, Milan (in Italian). Participation activities

Recent conference presentations

Bannò, M., Dawson, A., & Trento, S. (2019). Internationalization of family businesses: The role of female presence in boards of directors, 4th International Family Business Research Forum, International University of Monaco, Principality of Monaco.

Dawson, A. & Dawson, H. (2018) Family businesses and communities of practice: Introducing the ‘community-level family’ model, International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA) conference, Zwolle, Netherlands.

Dawson, A., Parada, M.J. & Samara G. (2018) Values and virtues in family firms. 7th Conference on Rhetoric and Narratives in Management Research, ESADE, Barcelona, Spain.

Dawson, A. (2017) Family business entrepreneurs joining social movements: The struggle between tradition and innovation, International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA) Research development workshop, Bolzano, Italy.

Chadwick, I. & Dawson, A. (2016) Female leadership and firm performance across business contexts. Academy of Management, Anaheim, USA.

Parada, M.J. & Dawson, A. (2016) Building family businesses identity through transgenerational narratives of business families. ESADE Conference on Rhetoric and Narratives in Management Research, Barcelona, Spain.

Chadwick, I. & Dawson, A. (2016) Female leadership and family business performance: Distinguishing between financial and nonfinancial performance. International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA) Research development workshop, Catania, Italy (Best paper award).

Dawson, A. & Sharma, P. (2014) Successors’ career intentions: The role of dispositional and situational factors. Family Enterprise Research Conference (FERC), Portland, USA.

Media interviews

Thinking Out Loud Live event (2017, 1 March), Concordia University's public engagement series in collaboration with The Globe and Mail. http://www.concordia.ca/cuevents/main/2017/04/13/business-ownership-now.html An elevated proposal (2017, 18 Feb), in The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/partners/advcuthinkingoutloud20171216/an-elevated-proposal/article34098383/

Family Business: Succession Planning (2015, 18-24 May), Canal Savoir. http://www.canalsavoir.tv/videos_sur_demande/family_business_sucession_planning

Montreal makes the most of its creative resources (2015, 3 Apr), in Montreal Gazette. http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-re-imagined/montreal-makes-the-most-of-its-creative-resources

Montreal’s small businesses struggling to survive (2015, 23 Mar), in Montreal Gazette. http://montrealgazette.com/news/montreals-small-businesses-are-failing-at-an-alarming-rate

Passer le flambeau,une opération delicate (2014, 28 Oct), in Le Devoir. http://www.ledevoir.com/economie/actualites-economiques/422251/entretiens-concordia-economie-et-innovation-passer-le-flambeau-une-operation-delicate

L’entrepreneuriat québécois au tournant d’une generation (2014, 7 May), in Découvrir, Association francophone pour le savoir. http://www.acfas.ca/publications/decouvrir/2014/05/l-entrepreneuriat-quebecois-tournant-generation

Other

• Associate Editor, Journal of Family Business Strategy
• Review Board Member, Family Business Review
• Mentor, Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada (project: Chamber Mentoring for International Growth)