The Pierre Part Store: a case study

Purpose – The purpose of this case study is to examine the impact of regional culture and family dynamics on firm survival and longevity. Secondary issues include operations management in a retail grocery, hardware, and building supply store. Design/methodology/approach – The author performed in‐depth qualitative interviews with the business owners and visited on site. The tape‐recorded interviews followed a formal list of questions, but were semi‐structured in nature. Findings – Although the store was remotely located, wise management and intelligent leadership have contributed to business success and survival into the fourth generation of family ownership. Research limitations/implications – As an exploratory qualitative case study, there are limitations concerning generalizability. Additionally, the findings here relate particularly to small family businesses. Practical implications – Family firms possess a business side and a family side. In this case, success factors on the business side included merchandising skills, responsiveness to customer needs, profitable sales margins, and reinvestment in facilities. On the family side, success factors included harmonious relations among family members, the incumbent leaders’ desire for succession to occur, incumbent leaders’ financial forbearance or sacrifice, solid education of successors, mentoring of the next generation, and willing and able successors. Originality/value – This case analyzed characteristics that lead to long term survival, examined the process of succession, and assessed the two‐sided nature – business side and family side – of a small family business.