Purpose Family firms with comparable resources often diverge sharply in performance, yet the reasons remain unclear. This study examines how three components of perceived familiness – organizational decision-making, family culture and family image – transform into perceived firm performance via non-family employees' perceptions of distributive and interactional justice. Design/methodology/approach Survey data from 400 white-collar employees in family businesses in Türkiye were used to test a model integrating the resource-based view and social exchange theory. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) assessed both the measurement model and the direct and indirect (mediating) structural effects. Findings Family culture and family image were strong antecedents of both distributive and interactional justice, whereas organizational decision-making had no significant effect on either. Both justice dimensions substantially enhanced perceived firm performance, with distributive justice being the more powerful. Mediation analyses confirmed that culture and image reach performance only through justice, whereas decision-making does not – thereby establishing organizational justice as the mechanism that converts the cultural and image components of familiness into firm-level outcomes. Originality/value Integrating the resource-based view with social exchange theory, the study shows that family resources are not inherently performance-generating; their value is realized only when employees decode them as fairness. It disaggregates familiness into components that reach performance through different routes, repositions justice from a micro-level attitude to a meso-level mechanism and reconciles the long-standing tension between socioemotional wealth and agency-based accounts of the family effect.
Purpose This study investigates how small and medium-sized family firms (family SMEs) build, mobilise and bound patient capital over the 2020–2024 polycrisis and how socioemotional wealth orders the financing hierarchy they follow. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory, abductive multiple-case study of 18 Austrian family SMEs (21 informants) pairs framework-based thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with register-based archival triangulation, setting self-reported financing behaviour against indicators drawn from annual statements and the company register. Findings Firms build patient capital in stable periods through retention and reserve-holding, then draw it down once the crises hit while leaning on a trusted house bank for bridging credit. Financing follows a socioemotional order: internal funds first, the house bank second, distrusted state support a distant third and external equity all but ruled out. The conservatism that buffers a firm can equally starve it of investment, so patience proves an asset only under particular conditions. Research limitations/implications The sample is of surviving firms in a bank-based economy and the data are retrospective; the findings are analytically, not statistically, generalisable and invite longitudinal and supply-side extension. Practical implications Owner-managers and successors can manage patient capital deliberately, through retention rules, rolling liquidity forecasts, staged investment and more than one cultivated house-bank tie; advisors, lenders and policymakers should weigh soft signals of resilience and the value of dependable crisis instruments and locally embedded banks. Originality/value The study recasts patient capital as a dynamic, bounded resource whose value is non-monotonic rather than a uniformly beneficial static endowment, extends the pecking order into an SEW-augmented financing hierarchy for family SMEs and shows how register-based archival triangulation provides partial corroboration for claims of financial conservatism.
Purpose This study examines how next-generation leaders shape organizational attention to artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in family firms. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the attention-based view, we use a hybrid Delphi design with 25 experts to identify and evaluate attention-shaping factors. Findings The results show that next-generation leaders act as “attention brokers,” leveraging informal influence, foresight and reframing to redirect organizational focus toward AI. Originality/value The study contributes by highlighting the role of attentional agency in explaining heterogeneity in innovation responses and AI adoption across family firms.
Purpose Mental health is important in any business type but particularly in family businesses due to their unique nature and interaction with other family businesses. To fully understand the role of mental health in family business, a newer approach integrating technological innovations, including artificial intelligence, is required. Design/methodology/approach The research on mental health in a family business setting is reviewed in order to analyse it in terms of creativity and inclusion. A narrative review approach is conducted that includes a focus on artificial intelligence in mental health and family business settings. Findings The article finds important future research avenues for integrating artificial intelligence into mental health discussions in family business. This enables more emerging technologies to be utilised to understand the way mental health may change over a family businesses lifecycle. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this article is among the first to integrate artificial intelligence thinking into mental health in family business.
Purpose This study investigates internal organizational barriers to innovation in Brazilian family businesses (FBs), drawing on Rumelt’s (1995) theory of organizational inertia. It examines how family conflict, resource and capability management, and decision-making processes influence perceived innovation capacity in an emerging-economy context. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 96 employees of Brazilian FBs. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis, complemented by exploratory textual analysis of open-ended responses. The research instrument was based on Rumelt’s inertia framework and adapted to the dynamics of FBs to ensure theoretical and contextual relevance. Findings Results demonstrate that conflicts in resource and capability management constitute the most salient source of perceived inertia, whereas family conflict and decision-making structures do not significantly predict perceived innovation. Multigroup analysis highlights intraorganizational heterogeneity, with perceptual differences across generational stages, family affiliation, and organizational roles. Communication, succession planning, and HR practices emerged as relevant factors associated with organizational justice and innovation readiness. Practical implications Findings emphasize the importance of professionalized HR practices, professionalized governance mechanisms, and external advisory boards in mitigating inertial forces and fostering innovation capacity in FBs. More broadly, the results suggest that overcoming resource and capability barriers can enhance innovation readiness by improving talent allocation, legitimacy of decision-making, and engagement of non-family employees, particularly in emerging-market family firms facing institutional constraints. Social implications By addressing internal barriers, FBs can enhance their resilience, competitiveness, and contribution to sustainable development, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goal 9. Originality/value This study advances the literature on innovation in family firms by showing how barriers commonly treated as external constraints become consequential through internally mediated mechanisms of organizational inertia. It identifies resource and capability management as the most salient source of perceived innovation inertia and highlights substantial heterogeneity in how innovation barriers are perceived across family-firm subgroups.
PurposeThis study examines the current state of knowledge regarding paradoxes in family businesses. Guided by the overarching research question, “What is known about paradoxes in family businesses and what lines of research emerge from this knowledge?”, the article reviews the literature, systematizes the categories of paradoxes and the theories that support them and proposes future lines of research. Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted, identifying 60 academic studies that directly address paradoxes in family businesses. The paradoxes were analyzed, classified and linked to theoretical frameworks, enabling a structured understanding of the tensions that define the dynamics of family businesses. FindingsThis review identifies 60 paradoxes grouped into five main thematic areas: innovation, entrepreneurship, governance and succession and risk and finance. Innovation paradoxes reflect the tension between tradition and change, entrepreneurship paradoxes arise from generational and power shifts and governance and succession present conflicts based on identity and legitimacy. The paradoxes of risk financing reveal the tension between control, risk aversion and the pursuit of growth. Taken together, these paradoxes illustrate how family businesses continually negotiate dual demands, shaping their long-term survival, strategic behavior and socioemotional wealth. Originality/valueThis study offers the first comprehensive mapping of paradoxes in family businesses, linking them to theoretical foundations and future research directions. It provides academics with a structured agenda and practitioners with a practical perspective for addressing the inherent tensions that shape the behavior of family businesses.
Purpose This study aims to investigate how leadership patterns in family firms relate to management control practices, addressing the limited empirical evidence on how observable top-management behaviours shape the design and use of control systems in family businesses.Design/methodology/approach Using data from the Portuguese Management Practices Survey, the study focuses on 1,505 family firms and operationalizes leadership through nine observable characteristics of the top manager, such as being proactive, taking responsibility and leading by example. A multi-level latent class model is employed to identify firm-level leadership profiles while accounting for the nesting of firms within industry sectors and to examine their association with four dimensions of management control: frequency of key performance indicator (KPI) collection and assessment, availability of information for decision-making and sources of managerial learning.Findings Four leadership patterns emerge: example-led decisive, proactive responsibility-driven, responsibility-example oriented and low-participative decision-makers. These leadership patterns are systematically associated with different control practices, particularly in terms of how frequently KPIs are collected and reviewed, how much information is available to support decisions and whether learning about management practices primarily occurs through internal or external sources. The results indicate that leadership heterogeneity within family firms is linked to distinct configurations of management control rather than a uniform "family-firm" control model.Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional, single-country design limits causal inference and generalizability. Future research should examine performance and succession outcomes associated with these leadership-control configurations in other institutional contexts.Originality/value The study offers an empirically grounded, exploratory typology of leadership patterns in family firms, based on observable managerial characteristics, and links these patterns to specific management control practices while explicitly incorporating sector-level context through a multi-level latent class approach.
Purpose This study examines the diversity of top management teams (TMTs) in family firms operating in European Emerging Markets, with particular attention to gender composition and governance configurations defined by ownership and management structures. The study addresses limited configurational evidence on how gender diversity, embedded within family governance structures, relates to organizational characteristics and financial performance in post-transition economies. Design/methodology/approach Using firm-level data, the study analyses a large sample of family small and medium-sized enterprises operating in European Emerging Markets. A cluster analysis is employed to identify distinct ownership-management governance configurations based on family ownership, family involvement in management, gender composition of TMTs, firm age, and size. Differences in structural characteristics and financial performance across clusters are subsequently examined. Findings The analysis identifies five distinct clusters of family firms, reflecting different governance and leadership configurations, including male-managed and female-managed family-dominated firms, co-managed firms, co-owned and co-managed firms, and mature family firms. The results suggest that gender representation in leadership within family-owned and -managed firms follows a polarized pattern, with women either occupying central managerial roles or remaining largely absent from formal leadership structures. This pattern indicates a link between ownership structures and gendered leadership configurations. While female-managed family firms are significantly smaller in terms of employment, no statistically significant differences in financial performance are observed between male- and female-managed family-dominated firms. This suggests that gender diversity in TMTs is highly heterogeneous across firms but does not translate into systematic performance differences. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design and country-level data imbalance limit causal inference, as well as the ability to capture the dynamic evolution of ownership-management configurations and gender roles over time. In addition, the use of quantitative secondary data does not allow for distinguishing between symbolic and substantive participation of women in leadership positions. These limitations suggest avenues for future longitudinal and qualitative research that could provide deeper insights into governance processes, succession dynamics, and the actual influence of women in family firm leadership. Practical implications The results suggest that policies and advisory programs targeting family firms should avoid one-size-fits-all approaches and instead account for heterogeneity in ownership–management configurations, succession dynamics, and the role of family control. In particular, managers should recognize that women's participation in leadership is often shaped by governance structures and institutional constraints. These factors may limit their strategic influence despite formal inclusion. Therefore, firms should not focus only on increasing the number of women in TMTs, but also on assigning them clear responsibilities and real decision-making authority. Originality/value The study contributes to family business research by moving beyond linear approaches and adopting a configurational perspective that integrates gender diversity with ownership structures and managerial composition. It further contributes by providing novel evidence from underexplored European Emerging Markets.
Purpose This study examines how consumers' perceptions of family legacy shape loyalty toward family-owned luxury brands. It introduces the concept of perceived outward family legacy as a multidimensional, consumer-based construct and investigates its effect on brand loyalty via brand identification while considering perceived social status as a boundary condition.Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through an online survey of 314 consumers. The hypotheses were tested using a moderated mediation framework to assess both indirect effects, via brand identification, and conditional effects depending on perceived social status.Findings Perceived outward family legacy positively influences brand identification, which in turn enhances brand loyalty. Brand identification partially mediates this relationship. Moreover, the effect of brand identification on brand loyalty is stronger among consumers with higher perceived social status.Practical implications Family-owned luxury brands should strategically design and communicate family-related cues (e.g. lineage, continuity, and reputation) to strengthen consumers' brand identification, while avoiding overexposure that may dilute exclusivity. Marketing strategies should be tailored to high-status consumers, for whom legacy cues are more impactful in driving loyalty. Managers should orchestrate storytelling, retail experiences, and client advisor interactions to reinforce perceived legacy coherently.Social implications Emphasizing family legacy may reinforce status-based consumption dynamics and symbolic differentiation. However, it may also preserve cultural heritage and intergenerational narratives, fostering continuity, authenticity, and identity construction within luxury consumption contexts.Originality/value The study advances a consumer-centric perspective on family legacy by conceptualizing it as a perceptual and multidimensional construct. It contributes to the literature on luxury branding and family business by clarifying how family-based heritage cues are cognitively internalized and by identifying perceived social status as a key boundary condition.
Purpose - Families are becoming increasingly diverse; however, this development is only partially reflected in the family business literature. The majority of the existing research still draws on assumptions aligned with traditional family structures and therefore, may not fully capture the contemporary dynamics of business families. These developments change the mechanisms through which families influence ownership distribution, managerial roles and the family business lifecycle. Design/methodology/approach - We apply the theory adaptation perspective by Jaakkola (2020), problematizing the assumptions of a core family that shape both the three-circle model and the lifecycle model. Drawing on family science, family business and entrepreneurship theories, we illustrate multilevel shifts that shape the zeitgeist of business families, broadening the conceptual scope of the two frameworks to better capture such timely developments. Findings - First, we adapt the three-circle model (Tagiuri and Davis, 1996) by integrating a multilevel framework that specifies the mechanisms through which contemporary family structures reshape ownership, management and the business family. Second, we propose two additional tiers that extend the lifecycle framework of Gersick et al. (1999): the Contemporary perspective and the Frontiers perspective. Together, these two tiers preserve the strengths of the classic model while providing an update to the conceptual baseline for the analyses of family businesses. Originality/value - Current family business literature concentrating on the business family mainly assumes the business family has a stable core family structure. This paper adapts both the three-circle model and the lifecycle framework to encompass contemporary family realities and specifies how they reshape development across business, ownership and the business family.
Purpose This study examines how socioemotional wealth (SEW) shapes employees' perceptions of organizational culture, resistance to change, and self-perceived performance in small and medium-sized family and non-family firms, adopting a micro-foundational perspective that positions SEW as an interpretive logic embedded in organizational contexts.Design/methodology/approach Drawing on SEW theory and the Competing Values Framework (CVF), the study conceptualizes SEW as reflected in organizational meaning systems rather than as a directly measured construct. Survey data were collected from 178 employees in Portuguese SMEs. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), independent samples t-tests, and hierarchical regression analyses were used to compare family and non-family firms and to assess the independent effects of organizational culture and resistance to change on self-perceived performance.Findings Family firms exhibit stronger Support (Clan) and Rules (Hierarchy) cultural orientations, whereas non-family firms emphasize Innovation (Adhocracy) and Goals (Market). Employees in family firms report significantly higher resistance to change. However, no significant differences are found in self-perceived performance between the two groups. Within family firms, resistance to change is negatively associated with performance perceptions, while supportive and innovative cultural orientations are positively related to perceived performance. These results support a dual-pathway model in which organizational culture and resistance to change operate as parallel mechanisms shaping employee perceptions.Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported data limit causal inference and raise potential concerns regarding common method variance. Future research should adopt longitudinal and multi-source approaches and explore additional micro-level mechanisms through which SEW influences employee outcomes.Practical implications The findings highlight that while SEW-driven cultures foster cohesion and stability, they may also increase resistance to change. Managers in family firms should align change initiatives with socioemotional priorities and promote cultural environments that balance relational cohesion with adaptability to sustain positive employee performance perceptions.Originality/value This study contributes to the family business literature by extending SEW theory to the employee level and by demonstrating that family firm distinctiveness is primarily reflected in interpretive mechanisms, organizational culture and resistance to change, rather than in performance outcomes. It offers an integrated framework linking SEW, culture, and employee perceptions of effectiveness.
Purpose This study analyses the impact of environmental and social sustainability practices on marketing innovation and how the nature of family firms (FFs) moderates this relationship. Design/methodology/approach We draw upon data from 6,843 European companies, spanning 16 industries and 39 countries, obtained from Flash Eurobarometer 486 (European Commission, 2020). Four binary logistic regression models are adopted to assess the behaviour of the dependent variable, marketing innovation, and the independent variables, environmental sustainability and social sustainability, while also examining the interaction of the FF with environmental and social sustainability. Findings The results show that both environmental and social sustainability practices positively and significantly influence marketing innovation. Moreover, FFs that prioritise social sustainability are more likely to implement marketing innovations compared to non-FFs. These results highlight the role of social and environmental sustainability actions as drivers of marketing innovation in European companies. Additionally, the research shows the particularly relevant relationship between social sustainability and marketing innovation in FFs. Originality/value Whereas previous research has primarily concentrated on how marketing innovations impact sustainability, this study examines the less-understood influence of sustainability practices on marketing innovation, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and FFs. In particular, we highlight the moderating role of family ownership in the sustainability-marketing innovation nexus, and suggest that marketing innovation can serve as a means through which social nonmarket strategies (such as social and environmental strategies) generate better business results.
PurposeAlthough the literature highlights the critical role of family firms in ensuring the sustainability of our economies, few studies examine how these firms differ from nonfamily firms in integrating environmental considerations into their innovation strategies. To address this gap, this research draws on stakeholder theory and the socioemotional wealth perspective to examine the relationship between the family status of the firm and green innovation intensity, while also investigating the moderating role of environmental awareness longevity.Design/methodology/approachThis research relies on a quantitative analysis of a sample of 231 private firms located in Wallonia (Belgium). Regression analyses are conducted to test the direct effect of family status of the firm on green innovation intensity and the moderating effect of the duration of environmental awareness.FindingsThe results reveal a positive relationship between the family status of the firm and green innovation intensity. However, this positive effect weakens as the duration of environmental awareness increases. This suggests that family firms are particularly supportive of green innovations in the early stages of their environmental awareness.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature at the intersection of green innovation and family business by showing that family firms are more inclined than nonfamily firms to pursue green innovations. By introducing environmental awareness longevity as a moderating factor, the research advances existing knowledge by revealing the temporal conditions under which family firms display greater proactivity in the adoption of green innovations.
PurposeFamily businesses in emerging economies often face challenges in achieving growth while preserving their cultural and ethnic identities. This study examines the influence of inclusivity on business expansion in family-owned micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with cultural awareness, familiness and local coopetition as mediating factors.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative survey was conducted with 300 family entrepreneurs in North Sumatra, Indonesia, a region known for its diverse indigenous ethnic communities. The proposed model was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypotheses.FindingsInclusivity enhances cultural awareness, which strengthens family business governance and identity as key dimensions of familiness. Cultural awareness mediates the relationship between inclusivity and familiness, whereas local coopetition, although not directly driven by governance or identity, significantly promotes business expansion.Practical implicationsFamily companies and local governments should foster inclusivity and cultural awareness to support socioemotional wealth and adopt coopetition strategies for sustainable longevity.Social implicationsThis study highlights the role of family firms as community anchors that support collaboration in multicultural settings. Thus, they can strengthen their social cohesion and preserve their local cultural values while pursuing economic growth.Originality/valueThis study extends the familiness theory by embedding inclusivity and cultural awareness as antecedents while clarifying the relational boundary conditions of coopetition in multiethnic family MSMEs.
Purpose This paper examines whether, when and how non-family managers can appropriate value from socioemotional wealth (SEW) in family firms. While SEW is typically treated as a source of value creation for the owning family, I distinguish between value creation and value appropriation and apply a property rights perspective to examine how ambiguity in SEW's control rights shapes non-family managers' ability to capture its benefits. Design/methodology/approach This study develops a conceptual framework that integrates the property rights theory with the SEW perspective. I theorize SEW as a bundle of property rights and distinguish between dimensions that are broadly accessible to firm stakeholders and those that are primarily reserved for family members. Drawing on prior research on control hazards and governance in family firms, I develop propositions explaining how reliability, egocentrism and succession hazards constrain non-family managers' ability to appropriate SEW value, and how governance mechanisms can mitigate these constraints. Findings I propose that SEW is not a monolithic resource but varies in its appropriability by non-family managers. Universal SEW dimensions, such as firm identification and external stakeholder relationships, are more accessible to non-family managers and associated with greater value appropriation. In contrast, family-focused SEW dimensions, including family control, transgenerational control and intra-family emotional ties, present greater property rights hazards that limit non-family managers' ability to capture value. Governance mechanisms can weaken these hazards and expand non-family managers' access to family-focused SEW. Research limitations/implications This paper considers whether, when and how non-family managers can appropriate value from SEW in family firms. While SEW is typically treated as a source of value creation for the owning family, I distinguish between value creation and value appropriation and apply a property rights perspective to examine how ambiguity in SEW's control rights shapes non-family managers' ability to capture its benefits. Originality/value This study reframes SEW as a contested resource rather than an asset exclusively benefiting family owners. By integrating the property rights theory with the SEW perspective, it offers a novel explanation for variation in non-family manager outcomes across family firms. The paper advances theory by clarifying when SEW can serve as a source of attraction and retention for non-family managers, thereby linking SEW preservation to family firm longevity and survival.
PurposeThis study examines how sustainable leadership influences competitive performance in family SMEs, considering the mediating role of sustainable practices through three dimensions, economic, social, and environmental.Design/methodology/approachA Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling approach was employed, using data from a sample of 111 family SMEs in the coffee sector in Antioquia, Colombia.FindingsThe results confirm that sustainable leadership positively affects competitive performance through the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable practices, whereas the social dimension does not show a significant mediating effect. This suggests that sustainable leadership translates more immediately into competitive advantages through economic and environmental practices, while social practices may require longer time horizons or more mature family governance structures.Research limitations/implicationsThis study's findings should be interpreted considering certain limitations. The research is cross-sectional, which restricts causal inference between sustainable human resource management, sustainable leadership, and competitive performance. The sample is limited to coffee SMEs in a specific Colombian region, which may reduce generalisability to other industries or geographic contexts. Future research should consider longitudinal designs and multi-industry samples, with a particular focus on deepening the social dimension of sustainability.Practical implicationsThe findings guide leaders and managers of rural family SMEs towards the adoption of sustainable strategies that simultaneously generate economic efficiency, environmental innovation, and organisational resilience.Social implicationsThe study highlights the social value of sustainable leadership in promoting long term sustainability and inclusive development within family business ecosystems in emerging regions.Originality/valueTheoretically, the study extends understanding of sustainable leadership in emerging economies by integrating the Natural Resource Based View with family business theory, showing how intergenerational values and a long term orientation strengthen organisational sustainability.
