A group of GVSU student-members of the Society for the Advancement of Management and International Business (SAM) spent much of this past year studying the role of family business in the West Michigan economy.
The project dovetails with the launch of the new family business institute in the Seidman School of Business.
SAM members Jessica Vandermeer, Sara Gray, Mike Nelson, Brian Dutkiewicz, and Lisa Bauer participated in the study, titled The Integral Role of a Family Business in the West Michigan Economy.
The group's case study was the Koeze Nut Company, a family business that has operated for several generations, and which retails its products in West Michigan and nationally through cataloguing. Specifically, the research study examined the business' history and the owner's involvement in the operation of the business. The study also describes how the business has evolved through the family generations under various leaders.
We got an accurate representation of a small business in West Michigan, explains Jessica Vandermeer, a Management and Human Resources major.
As a group, we got to learn about the local economy, the culture, and family business heritage in West Michigan,' says Sara Gray, a Finance major. It was interesting to see how a business can integrate these values into running a business.
