Navigating the Waters of Family Business Research: Options and Learnings for Young Scholars

The interest in family business as a distinct academic research field has grown significantly in recent years, mostly motivated by the prevalence of family businesses worldwide and an increasing number of people and institutions acknowledging their importance and recognizing the need to gain a deeper understanding of this particular type of organization. The aim of this editorial is twofold: (1) to reflect on how the family business community could help young scholars develop and navigate the waters of family business research, and (2) to present current and up-to-date family business research mainly realized by emergent scholars and featured in this special issue. We first present various conference opportunities which aim at promoting scholarship and exchange opportunities for (young) family business researchers. Furthermore, we disentangle the main challenges arising when young scholars approach our research field by providing some reflections on learning, discussing, and networking within the family business community. Next, we introduce the four articles of this special issue which all started their journey during the 2nd International Family Business Research Forum held in Naples/Capri in September 2016.