Governance bodies in the family business: a bibliometric study

Abstract

The article presents a documentary review about the necessary governance bodies to manage the family business (FB). The main objective was to examine the current state in the literature on this subject. A systematic review of documents was used, combining various bibliometric methods, in order to map the topics related to corporate, family, and FB governance to better understand their development and interaction. In the analyzed articles, it was discovered that the FB consists of three areas, which are family, business, and ownership. These operate efficiently in the first generation when everything revolves around the figure of the founder; however, the growth of these areas brings management challenges, hence the need to establish governance bodies. It was concluded that the creation and operation of these bodies are fundamental to contribute to the management of the FB in all its aspects, thereby breaking free from founder dependence to achieve a professionalized corporate governance.