Ideals-based accountability through history: the case of an Italian glass-maker’s family business

Purpose This paper aims at exploring the historical roots of ideals-based accountability (IBA) in a family business of the past. It examines the narrative accounts of the history of an Italian long-lived family business written by one of its latest business owners to determine how and to what extent it was used to discharge a more ethical form of accountability. Design/methodology/approach An extensive thematic analysis informed on the conceptual framework of IBA is conducted on the unpublished manuscript by Angelo Barovier, the oldest leader of the Barovier’s family business. Findings The retrospective narrative served the family owner as a means for IBA, unveiling to the present and future generations of family owners the values and ideals that had motivated the ancestors to sustain the family business throughout the centuries despite the financial performance or the adversities. Research limitations/implications This paper reveals the historical roots of IBA as grounded in family business historical narratives. It contributes to management and family business history by showing the historical relevance of ideals and values for the development and sustainment of a family business. Practical implications This study opens to a larger application of IBA also in contemporary businesses, as a tool to foster and disseminate a more ethical form of accountability and to a further extent support the construction of a more ethical society. Originality/value This paper connects the newly developed IBA framework, conceived for family businesses, to a management history perspective showing its potential for the intergenerational transmission of business culture.