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Responding to calls to use family theories in family firm research, we adopt a family science perspective to understand the impact of the family system elements of gender and communication on the family business system. We draw from family communication pattern theory to theorize that family employee voice in family firms is a direct reflection of the owning family's communication orientation. Further, we theorize that gender is a unique factor within a family system that alters expected employee voice outcomes associated with the family's communication orientation. We test our theorizing using primary dyadic data collected from family firm leaders and their family employees in 103 small family firms. Findings indicate that the family's communication orientation can transfer to the family firm; however, the transfer effects differ by orientation and are contingent on leader-employee gender similarity. We discuss novel insights gleaned from our study and implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the socioemotional wealth and social capital perspectives, this study offers insights into the implications of managerial ties for corporate entrepreneurship (CE) by focusing on business and political ties in the context of emerging markets. Moreover, the mediating effects of cooperation among firms on the relationship between business (or political) ties and CE are examined, and the moderated mediation effects of family governance on the above mediating relationships are then further examined. Data were collected from a questionnaire survey and the Taiwan Economic Journal database. All hypotheses were examined by employing regression analysis and Hayes's PROCESS macro model on a dataset of 173 Taiwanese public companies. The findings show that (1) business and political ties increase CE; (2) cooperation among firms positively mediates the influences of business and political ties on CE; (3) family governance enhances the positive indirect effect of business ties on CE via cooperation; however, the adverse influence of firms' political ties on their cooperation with others in family governance, which subsequently reduces CE. Solidarity within social networks promotes conspiracies and unethical behaviour. These findings support our predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether and how inter-firm cooperation and firm age moderate the relationship between family ownership and productivity. Design/methodology/approach: We first estimate the total factor productivity (TFP) of a large sample of Italian firms observed over the period 2010–2018 and then apply a Poisson random effects model. Findings: TFP is, on average, higher for non-family firms (non-FFs) than for FF. Furthermore, inter-organizational cooperation and firm age mitigate the negative effect of family ownership. In detail, it is found that belonging to a network acts as a moderator in different ways according to firm age. Indeed, young FFs underperform non-FF peers, although the TFP gap decreases with age. In contrast, the benefits of a formal network are high for older FFs, suggesting that an age-related learning process is at work. Practical implications: The study provides evidence that FFs can outperform non-FFs when they move away from Socio-Emotional Wealth-centered reference points and exploit knowledge flows arising from high levels of social capital. In the case of mature FFs, networking is a driver of TFP, allowing them to acquire external resources. Since FFs often do not have sufficient in-house knowledge and resources, they must be aware of the value of business cooperation. While preserving the familiar identity of small companies, networks grant FFs the competitive and scale advantages of being large. Originality/value: Despite the wide but ambiguous body of research on the performance gap between FFs and non-FFs, little is known about the role of FFs' heterogeneity. This study has proven successful in detecting age as a factor in heterogeneity, specifically to explain the network effect on the link between ownership and TFP. Based on a representative sample, the study provides a solid framework for FFs, policymakers and academic research on family-owned companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the research on the family business and rural economy, there has been a problem with the delimitation of the concepts. Given this problem, this study's main objective was to identify and visualize the intellectual structure of these two issues through scientific maps. To meet this objective, an evaluation of scientific performance and production was carried out with bibliometric indicators to extract the main research topics around these two areas through an analysis of the co-occurrence of keywords with scientific maps. The results show that research on family businesses and rural economy is booming, especially on family businesses that have higher productivity and performance. Regarding the main topics studied regarding family businesses and the rural economy, a total of 16 main themes were detected, highlighting the topic of entrepreneurship. The study of land management in transboundary environments is a potential line of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: Craft firms characterized by a humanistic approach to work face a tension between adhering to pure craft principles and embracing industrialization. This challenge is heightened in family‐controlled craft firms, striving to uphold tradition while adapting to change. This study examines how craft work evolves along the trajectory of entrepreneurial development through a case study of Thun, a third‐generation family craft firm. We identify a set of mechanisms and four configurations—pure, technical, narrative, and ecosystemic—through which craft work evolves over time. These configurations not only preserve traditions, but also infuse them with entrepreneurial spirit, reinterpretation, and deep innovation. This study contributes to the craft work literature by moving beyond static perspectives and revealing the dynamic interplay between different craft configurations. Managerial Summary: Craft firms, which emphasize a humanistic approach to work, often struggle with the tension between preserving traditional craftsmanship and embracing industrialization. Our study of Thun, a third‐generation family craft firm, provides practical insights for managers by identifying a set of mechanisms and four configurations—pure, technical, narrative, and ecosystemic—that show how craft work can evolve over time. Managers can use these configurations to balance tradition and innovation, and inject entrepreneurial spirit into craft processes. Our findings underscore the importance of managing this balance for sustainable competitiveness and fostering an entrepreneurial firm culture that supports both artisanal and industrial production. Our study also provides a practical guide for craft firms seeking to evolve strategically, ensuring the integration of tradition with contemporary entrepreneurial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the research gap in parent-child intergenerational succession, this study adopts a stakeholder perspective and utilizes data from listed family firms in China spanning from 2010 to 2021 to explore the influence of parent-child cogovernance on corporate ESG performance. The findings reveal a significant positive relationship between parent-child cogovernance and corporate ESG performance, with this effect becoming more pronounced as parent-child cogovernance deepens. Furthermore, our analysis identifies "paternalistic care" and "reducing agency costs" as crucial mechanisms through which parent-child cogovernance enhances ESG performance. Importantly, the impact of parent-child cogovernance is particularly notable in firms characterized by lower first-generation control, limited political connections, and weaker external governance. The robustness of our results is confirmed through various methodological approaches including two-stage least squares estimation (2SLS), Heckman two-stage estimation, propensity score matching (PSM), and staggered difference-in-difference (DID) analysis. This study contributes significantly to the literature on intergenerational succession and corporate ESG performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital transformation (DT) encompasses profound technological changes. Businesses face the challenge of adapting their activities to the pace of new technologies to increase the efficiency of business processes, improve the customer experience, and create innovative value propositions while recognizing the importance of sustainability. This research focuses on how family businesses, which are a relevant part of global economic activity and job creation, address the challenges associated with the DT. Based on the case of the automotive retail sector in a small European country characterized by the high acceptance of technologies, we use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to understand how critical success factors (causal conditions) combine towards adopting technologies representing different perspectives of the DT. The results confirm the existence of multiple configurations based on the importance of organizational culture, change management, knowledge, human capital, IT systems, and DT strategy towards the adoption of customer relationship management, digital marketing, and social networks technologies, thus helping family businesses to understand the adoption of these technologies leading to organizational success in the context of the DT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of family ownership on corporate misconduct and its subsequent consequences. We argue that the reduced Type I agency conflicts (conflicts between managers and shareholders) in family firms may create an alignment effect, thereby curbing managerial misbehaviour. In contrast, the more severe Type II agency issues (conflicts between family owners and other shareholders) may induce an entrenchment effect, potentially fostering misconduct in these firms. Whether and how family ownership affects firm misconduct remains an empirical question. Through a research design that analyzes both types of agency conflict across various combinations of ownership and management control, our study of S&P 500 firms in the US suggests that family ownership tends to restrain firm misconduct. Specifically, family firms with externally hired CEOs effectively mitigate Type I agency problems and deter misconduct. Further analyses of misconduct consequences show that family ownership mitigates the negative effect of misconduct on firms' credit ratings, particularly in firms with outside‐hired CEOs. Moreover, family firms encounter less adverse market reactions in response to disclosures of misconduct penalties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Given the growing interest in the topic of knowledge management (KM) in family firms (FFs) and the subsequent increasing number of papers published, this study aims to review the field to identify and analyze the main themes and trends. Design/methodology/approach: This study applies bibliometric techniques to a sample of 146 papers published from 2007 to 2023 and their 8,126 unique cited references. Bibliometric coupling is performed on the sample papers to explore the current intellectual structure of the field of KM in FFs, whereas cocitations analysis is performed to investigate the different literature streams that served as roots for the development of such a field. Findings: Bibliographic coupling reveals that sample papers can be grouped into four clusters, and, through papers content analysis, the author identifies their core themes as knowledge sharing, innovation, knowledge-based dynamic capabilities and intellectual capital. Cocitation analysis of the cited references revealed four main clusters that can be considered the literature streams that served as roots for the development of the field, i.e. knowledge-based view, socioemotional wealth, strategic management and social capital (as a theory and as a resource). Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature on KM in FFs by extending prior systematic review efforts with bibliometric analyses and combining these results to highlight connections between the main research themes around which scholars have debated (i.e. the clusters identified through bibliometric coupling) and their theoretical foundations (i.e. the clusters identified through cocitation analysis). This study also has practical implications by synthesizing and informing managers about FFs' advantages and weaknesses in the KM process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the accounting for defined benefit pension plans in U.S. family firms. Relying on agency theory and the literature on defined benefit pension plans, we test whether the allocation of pension plan assets, the expected rate of return on pension plan assets and the contributions to defined benefit pension plans in family firms are significantly different from those in non‐family firms. Relying on a sample of U.S. firms over the period 2004–2018, we first document that family firms take more risk when allocating their pension plan assets relative to non‐family firms where they allocate a larger (smaller) percentage of pension plan assets in equity (debt) securities. We also show that family firms are more aggressive in setting the expected rate of return on pension plan assets than non‐family firms. However, family firms' contributions to defined benefit pension plans are comparable to those of non‐family firms. Our findings hold after controlling for the endogeneity in family firms. These findings are important since they provide first hand empirical evidence on the accounting for defined benefit pension plans in family firms. They further shed light over pension plans that serve as a key tool to attract and retain executive talents and make up a significant portion of firms balance' sheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family governance as a research field has recently attracted scholarly attention. The article aims to contribute to family business literature by consolidating the extant research on family governance. Our systematic literature review comprises 52 articles on family governance in 24 peer-reviewed journals between 1993 and 2023. The findings reveal family complexity as one of the preeminent reasons to adopt family governance structures. The study further identifies that the adoption of family governance structures by family businesses results in family and business-related transformation and leads to various economic and non-economic benefits. Finally, we suggest potential avenues for conducting future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic literature review synthesizes and maps existing research on auditing in family firms across multiple areas of study. The review includes 71 systematically selected academic articles published through to 2023. Our findings suggest that many audit-related issues, such as audit fees, audit quality, and auditor choice, differ significantly among family and nonfamily firms. Our review suggests that the positioning of the issues across different disciplines adds complexity and, to some extent, hinders the development of the field. This complexity, resulting from the intermixing of multiple concepts from different disciplines, pushes the majority of the reviewed articles toward theoretical singularity rather than a leap forward in terms of empirical relevance or theoretical plurality. By developing a field map that identifies gaps in current knowledge, our review not only suggests improvements to the status quo, but provides future research directions inspired by recent developments in family business and auditing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the key topic of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) survival during an economic downturn by focusing on the role of family governance. We argue that family SMEs typically show higher levels of organizational inertia that may particularly harm their performance during an environmental jolt, while other idiosyncrasies, including greater survivability capital and owners' transgenerational sustainability intentions, enhance their odds of survival. However, we also contend that family firms are a heterogeneous group, and draw attention to the level of ownership concentration and collaborative intensity as factors likely to enhance these firms' survival. Conversely, we posit that family businesses with lower ownership concentration will benefit more from high collaborative intensity, thus suggesting the need to examine the joint survival effects of these two factors. We performed Cox survival analyses on a sample of 259 SMEs tracked from 2005 to 2019. The results offer important implications for scholars, managers, and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding chief executive officers (CEOs) is important because of their vast influence on the strategies and performance of organizations. With the growth of family business research, new insights about family firm CEOs have emerged. However, knowledge about family firm CEOs is dispersed across an array of disciplines that take different perspectives. These differences have led to an inconsistent understanding of family firm CEOs, particularly since they can be family or nonfamily members with varying levels of willingness, ability, and capability to select and implement distinctive strategies. To better understand CEOs in family firms, we reviewed 175 articles published between 1984 and 2021 using upper echelons theory to capture the relationships among CEO characteristics, strategic choices, and firm performance. Our integrative review synthesizes findings from entrepreneurship, management, finance, economics, and other disciplines to provide insights and future research directions on CEO characteristics, strategic choices, and firm performance in family firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the digital technologies diffusion, low-medium technology firms have been pushed to advance their dynamic capabilities. Through an exploratory multiple-case study, we analyze four Thai family firms assessing their preparedness in pursuing a digital transformation journey and their ability to improve dynamic capabilities. The study shows that LMT firms are in the early stage of their digital transformation, which is led by being part of a global value chain, serving exigent consumers, and imitating startups. Thai firms revitalize business models, while optimizing operations. They build dynamic capabilities through the help of third-party providers prioritizing social media marketing and digital marketing, with a general awareness of environmental, societal, and governance trends. Overall, family firms are still reluctant to pursue strategic agility and rapid prototyping. Thus, in the absence of an innovation ecosystem supporting family firms, it is harder to augment their absorptive capacity and redesign the internal structure of the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: Investment growth in family firms is constrained by family preferences to retain corporate control, which limits outside equity issuance and increases the expropriation risk perceived by external minority shareholders. Tenure‐based voting rights (TVRs) weaken the link between voting rights and cash flow rights, facilitating new equity capital issuance without loss of control. We find that publicly listed family firms in Italy adopt TVRs to facilitate the continuation of investment growth while retaining family control. We also find that in family firms with fragile control, investment increases after TVR adoption. Our results indicate that control‐enhancing mechanisms such as TVRs can help resolve the control–growth dilemma in family firms. Managerial Summary: Family firms tend to invest less than other firms because funding new investment can lead to loss of family control. Tenure‐based voting rights (TVRs) reinforce the control of qualifying family shareholders, giving them extra shareholder voting power. Deviation from the one‐share‐one‐vote principle is generally regarded as detrimental to outside shareholders' interests. However, we find that TVR‐adopting Italian family firms invest more, pay higher dividends, are more profitable and have more outside shareholders on the board of directors. In other words, violation of the one‐share‐one‐vote rule using TVRs can benefit both family owners and outside shareholders. Policymakers could consider whether TVRs can help in promoting economic growth, especially in countries where family firms are important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By investigating a sample of industrial Italian listed firms for the years 2003–2020, this research aims to explore two main relationships. First, the study examines the association between the ratio of female directors and CSR strategy score in both family and nonfamily firms. Second, it investigates the link between family female directors and nonfamily female directors within the subsample of family firms. The empirical findings show the existence of a positive link between the ratio of female directors and CSR strategy score only in the subsample of family firms and that this result is driven by the percentage of nonfamily female directors. Additional analyses, aiming to elucidate the heterogeneity of family female directors, report that family females who have an executive role on the board are beneficial for the CSR strategy score, whereas family females who are interlocked and with long tenure are detrimental for the CSR strategy score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to measure the high-quality entrepreneurial efficiency of family-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) while exploring the potential determinants of their performance. This study places particular emphasis on the firms' technological competencies and internationalization efforts. The authors aim to shed light on the internal and external characteristics that impact the efficiency of family SMEs. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts a two-stage approach. In the first stage, a data envelopment analysis model is utilized to measure the high-quality entrepreneurial efficiency of family SMEs. To achieve this, this study considered as outputs three key quality aspects of entrepreneurship, namely innovativeness, export orientation and turnover rate, while the inputs were the number of employees and the business environment. Then, in the second stage, the efficiency scores are regressed against a set of environmental factors that may affect the efficiency. The proposed efficiency measurement models are utilized with a particularly rich dataset of 1,910 family SMEs from 35 developed countries. Findings: The results demonstrated that the efficiency of family SMEs primarily engaged in the production of goods was significantly higher than those providing services. Importantly, the presence of barriers related to innovation and digitalization had a pronounced negative impact on efficiency. Additionally, scale-up firms exhibited higher levels of efficiency. When examining family SMEs within their national context, it was observed that non-EU countries and countries with a higher gross domestic product displayed significantly higher efficiencies. Originality/value: The findings of this research provide guidance for the development of entrepreneurship-oriented policies that consider both the internal characteristics of family SMEs and the diverse socioeconomic contexts in which they operate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family firms play an important role in the economies of developing countries such as Indonesia. Proper working capital management is necessary to support the sustainable growth of family firms. This study aims to analyze the characteristics of sustainable growth and working capital management of family firms. The study analyzes family firms by comparing them with non-family firms listed in the LQ45 index of the Indonesian capital market. Using quantitative methods, logistic regression is used to test the hypotheses. The survey sample covers 280 companies from 2015 to 2022. The results of the study show that the elements of sustainable growth of family firms differ from non-family firms only in the leverage element. Family firms tend to have lower leverage than non-family firms. Family firms tend to have more conservative working capital management policies for investment and financing than non-family firms. Family firms also have longer days of accounts payable outstanding than non-family firms, while days of inventory outstanding and days of sales outstanding are not significantly different. This study suggests that family firms should implement a moderate working capital policy to strengthen sustainable growth rates. AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank the Head of Research and Community Service at AKI University who has supported funding for this research. Thank you also to fellow Faculty of Economics and Business lecturers, AKI University who have helped provide the facilities needed for this research.