Umanga Whanaungatanga: Family Business

Authors: Amber Nicholson, Christine Woods and Manuka Henare

Organisation: University of Auckland Business School

Summary: This is an exploratory paper in which we examine the Mori notion of

whanaungatanga and the relevance it may have to the family business

concept of familiness in Aotearoa New Zealand. We propose that

whanaungatanga - broadly described as kinship relationships that

develop a sense of belonging - as one of the cultural tenants of a Mori

worldview - could be a critical source of leverage for Mori businesses.

We also suggest that familiness is an inherent structure within Mori

organisations, family business or otherwise. Familiness denotes the

distinct set of resources and capabilities held within the family firm that

has the potential to create competitive advantage. This paper puts

forward the notion that familiness may have some correlation to

spiritual and physical cultural notion of whanaungatanga, yet the latter

has the potential to extend much further.

Keywords: whanaungatanga, familiness, social capital

Contact Details: Amber Nicholson

Mira Szszy Research Centre

University of Auckland Business School

Private Bag 92019

Auckland

09 923 4585

a.nicholson@auckland.ac.nz

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INTRODUCTION

This is an exploratory paper in which we examine the Mori notion of whanaungatanga and

the relevance it may have to the family business concept of familiness in Aotearoa New

Zealand. Mori are the indigenous people of New Zealand (NZ), and Aotearoa the traditional

Mori name for this country. We propose that whanaungatanga - broadly described as

kinship relationships that develop a sense of belonging (Henare, 1988) - as one of the cultural

tenants of a Mori worldview - could be a critical source of leverage for Mori businesses.

We also suggest that familiness is an inherent structure within Mori organisations, family

business or otherwise. Familiness denotes the distinct set of resources and capabilities held

within the family firm that has the potential to create competitive advantage (Habbershon &

Williams, 1999). This paper puts forward the notion that familiness may have some

correlation to spiritual and physical cultural notion of whanaungatanga, yet the latter has the

potential to extend much further.

Family systems and networks are based on obligation, and membership often compulsory and

fixed provides a well-developed personal and communal identity (Rahman, 2011). This

paper explores these intrinsic principles in a bid to understand what whanaungatanga can

contribute to family business and its literature, and how the inherent desire to tend to

spiritual, environmental social and cultural, and human capital can provide economic

advantage.

We have used the term umanga whanaungatanga to denote family business within a Mori

context. Umanga is used widely to denote business but can also mean pursuit (Williams,

1992 [1844]). The NZ Law Commission (2006) whose purpose as an independent Crown

entity is to review the laws of Aotearoa New Zealand deems umanga as a community

undertaking not limited to purely commercial endeavours. Thus we suggest that umanga

whanaungatanga is the pursuit of communal and collective business ventures. In a

collectivist society, such as that of Mori, communities believe life to be a holistic system.

The environment, culture and society, spirituality and economy are all interconnecting

processes that cannot be seen in isolation (Cajete, 2000; Marsden, 2003; Spiller, Pio,

Erakovic, Henare, 2011; Suzuki et al., 1997). In contrast to the dominant Anglo-NZ view

that family and business overlap, umanga whanaungatanga is the concept of umanga residing

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within the realm of whanaungatanga. As echoed in other Indigenous societies, human life

and activity dwells within the community context (Cajete, 2000).

Figure 1: Anglo-NZ Family Business Model Figure 2: Maori Business Model

In this paper we first describe the background to the paper, a brief understanding of the

theoretical lens used to frame this paper. The next section explores the notion of

whanaungatanga and its many facets of whnau, whanaunga, and whakawhanaungatanga, as

well as the ethics that underpin this principle. We then examine the notion of familiness and

its relation to social capital; followed by our interpretation of what a Mori view of

familiness looks like. The principle of kotahitanga is then considered and we highlight the

advantages of enacting whanaungatanga. We briefly summarise some of the issues

concerned with these reciprocal relationships before finishing by outlining the limitations of

this paper.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The Mori economy as an Indigenous economy of Aotearoa New Zealand has a long and

flourishing history with beginnings in the Austronesian cultures and languages of South East

Asia dating back 5000-7000years ago and thus they carry a history and wealth of knowledge

that can inform modern business practices (Henare, 2000). The social organisation of

Indigenous society underpinned commercial success whereby whnau and hap

(social/family units) were akin to corporate organisations (Marsden, 2003; Petrie, 2006).

Indeed family or kinship systems are the oldest, most prevalent and established organisational

entities of human history (Rahman, 2011). However, since colonial times, significant

political and social impacts experienced by Mori led to a decline in Mori development

FAMILY BUSINESS

UMANGA

WHANAUNGATANGA

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(Best & Love, 2011; Spiller et al., 2011). Recently there has been resurgence in the Mori

economy (Durie, 2003; Henare, 2011; TPK, 2007) and research has shown that Mori are

highly entrepreneurial when compared to other developed countries (Frederick & Chittock,

2006; Frederick & Henry, 2004). Yet there is little exploration into how Mori can cultivate

entrepreneurship by using their own distinctive cultural values (Durie, 2003; Haar &

Delaney, 2009). As an integral part of the Aotearoa New Zealand economies, and with the

potentiality of significant growth, there is a need for further study into motivations of Mori

in entrepreneurial activity (BERL, 2010; Haar & Delaney, 2009; NZIER, 2003).

This paper is an exploratory study that aims to bring Mori cultural notions to the forefront

allowing Mori the space to determine their own business principles, and define practices of a

culturally appropriate nature within an Anglo-NZ dominant framework. There exists an

assumption that conventional business ideology can be applied to a Mori framework without

modification; it is Mori who are expected to adapt (Durie, 2003). Durie (2003) expresses

caution with this inference, as it cannot be supposed that Mori businesses are driven by the

same philosophy as that which underpins conventional business wisdom, that is, the single

profit-driven bottom line.

WHANAUNGATANGA

Whanaungatanga is a complex word that is made up of many parts. Whnau is the root word,

that is prefixed, suffixed, or both to convey meaning (Tinirau, 2010). The concept of whnau

has been evaluated and defined in many ways. Not only is there no single definition of

whnau, but each whnau group demands different obligations and responsibilities (Durie,

1997; Tinirau, 2010). Literally translated, whnau denotes extended family, or to give birth

(Williams, 1992 [1844]) and refers to those with a shared whakapapa (descent from a

common ancestor) (Durie, 1997). As the primary social unit of Mori society, it often

consisted of three to four generations at any one time (Henare, 1998; Metge, 1995; Walker,

1990). This differs from the conventional description of a nuclear family and Williams (1992

[1844]) questions whether Maori had any real comprehension of the family as a single unit.

Formerly, whnau were responsible for both the social and economic management of

domestic life. However, due to socio-economic changes in Aotearoa New Zealand in recent

decades, the contemporary sense of whnau has transformed dramatically from these classical

notions (Durie, 1997; Metge, 1995). Whilst some argue that these changes have rendered

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whnau as insignificant, others claim that whnau have simply adapted to stay relevant

(Durie, 1997). Metge (1995) contends that traditional principles - referred to here are kawa1 -

should not be confused with classical processes of the 18th

and 19th

century. Kawa is

rendered as knowledge handed down from the spiritual world, that which remain steadfast

and relevant through time, such as the principles of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and

whanaungatanga. Tikanga is the man-made directives of how these kawa are understood and

enacted and can vary between whnau (Henare, 2005). It is the whnau processes and

activities that have adapted through the ages to suit each environment. Thus Metge (1995)

argues that rather than being perpetual and static, the whnau is constantly developing

according to context.

In todays contemporary society, whnau has