{"title":"Research on family offices: What is the way forward? A systematic literature review","authors":"Patrik Hayoz , Bingbing Ge , Alfredo De Massis","doi":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100670","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100670","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite the growing presence of family offices (FOs) in practice, research on FOs is still in its infancy. Through a systematic literature review (SLR) of 104 papers, we synthesize existing knowledge in the field by integrating insights from both academic and practitioner research. Our SLR provides a state-of-the-art understanding of FOs and identifies new avenues for research that combine theoretical insights with practical implications. Specifically, our research addresses three key questions: i) How has research on FOs evolved; ii) What do we know about FOs, and iii) How can researchers further contribute to the field? We find that current research focuses primarily on FOs as service providers, with limited attention to the perspective of families as need originators. By bridging academic and practitioner-oriented research, we propose a novel definition of FOs to advance the discourse in the field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47661,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Family Business Strategy","volume":"16 3","pages":"Article 100670"},"PeriodicalIF":9.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144588357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carlotta Magri , Federico Bertacchini , Pier Luigi Marchini
{"title":"Resolution of financial distress in SMEs: How do family ownership and involvement affect second chance?","authors":"Carlotta Magri , Federico Bertacchini , Pier Luigi Marchini","doi":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100673","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100673","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The aim of this study is to understand if the idiosyncrasies of family firms affect the likelihood of successfully recovering from financial distress through a debt restructuring proceeding. Relying on the mixed-gamble logic of the behavioral agency model, we hypothesize that family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have greater chances of resolving financial distress than non-family SMEs, as the former are driven by the preservation of long-term socioemotional wealth. Our findings suggest that family ownership and control, as well as family involvement, are positively associated with the likelihood of successful debt restructuring. This study highlights that the unique emotional attachment family executives have to their business enhances their motivation and capabilities, making them more effective than their non-family counterparts at resolving financial distress through debt restructuring.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47661,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Family Business Strategy","volume":"16 3","pages":"Article 100673"},"PeriodicalIF":9.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144549008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tobias Reif, Dustin Bauer, Sebastian Junge, Verena Hossnofsky
{"title":"An update on family firm succession: A systematic literature review and future research directions","authors":"Tobias Reif, Dustin Bauer, Sebastian Junge, Verena Hossnofsky","doi":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100671","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100671","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Family firm succession has received considerable academic attention, focusing on various topics such as the actors involved, process models, surrounding contexts, and process outcomes. A systematic literature review was conducted to provide updated field assessments. Our analysis identifies two core research streams: succession candidates and process models. We reveal the distinctions between family and non-family succession candidates within four sets of antecedents connected to performance and socioemotional wealth outcomes. In addition, we identified various succession process models that led to different process understandings. By comparing and synthesizing previous studies, we propose a succession process model that incorporates the aforementioned antecedents as vital explanatory variables in the succession process. These antecedents trigger and shape the resulting gatekeeping events between the process phases. We argue that the interrelations among the phases, their content, and their gatekeepers lead to different succession outcomes. Our insights enhance the understanding of successful succession and post-succession outcomes in family firms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47661,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Family Business Strategy","volume":"16 3","pages":"Article 100671"},"PeriodicalIF":9.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144535686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thomas Rieg , Nastaran Simarasl , Sabine B. Rau , Franz W. Kellermanns
{"title":"Measuring family dynamics in business-owning families: Development and validation of the business owning family adaptability and cohesion scale","authors":"Thomas Rieg , Nastaran Simarasl , Sabine B. Rau , Franz W. Kellermanns","doi":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100674","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100674","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We draw from the Circumplex Model in family science to develop the <u>B</u>usiness-<u>O</u>wning <u>F</u>amily <u>A</u>daptability and <u>C</u>ohesion (BOFAC) scale to measure interpersonal family dynamics in family businesses. The BOFAC scale consists of two sub-scales: cohesion (7 items) and adaptability (8 items). We followed accepted scale development procedures, including conceptualization, item generation (based on 14 interviews with family business stakeholders), model specification (using a sample of 245 family business stakeholders), evaluation and refinement, and validation, relying on a sample of 144 family business CEOs and other constituents. Our findings show high reliability and validity. Compared to other existing family dynamics scales, BOFAC is directly tied to the family business context; it is short, easy to administer (self-report), and freely available to family business scholars (non-copyrighted).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47661,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Family Business Strategy","volume":"16 3","pages":"Article 100674"},"PeriodicalIF":9.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144549012","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What drives bank financing in family firms? A systematic review and research agenda","authors":"Lien Vekemans , Anneleen Michiels , Tensie Steijvers , Vincent Molly","doi":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100669","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100669","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Given the significant role of family firms worldwide, their access to bank financing to fund growth and operations is crucial for the global economy. Through a systematic literature review analyzing 126 empirical articles published between 1998 and 2023, this study focuses on the determinants of bank financing use on the one hand and bank financing conditions on the other hand. In this article, we disentangle the diversified and evolving research domain of family business bank financing, uncover what might explain the conflicting findings in extant research, and discuss how scholars could move this field forward. Guided by behavioral theories, we present promising directions for future research by identifying gaps considering the role of the business family in the decision-making process regarding bank finance use and conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47661,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Family Business Strategy","volume":"16 2","pages":"Article 100669"},"PeriodicalIF":9.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144242775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Competitive dynamics in family firms: Transactional versus communal approaches","authors":"Danny Miller, Isabelle Le Breton-Miller","doi":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100668","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100668","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Family business scholarship has neglected the dynamics of competitive rivalry, while competitive dynamics scholars have ignored the familial drivers shaping the competitive behavior of family firms. We bridge competitive dynamics and socioemotional literatures to model family firm competitive behavior. Family firms whose owners prioritize generational involvement as a source of socioemotional wealth often favor long-term, stakeholder-oriented <em>communal competition</em>. By contrast, owners favoring ongoing economic benefits for relatives may favor short-term, family-centric <em>transactional competition</em>. We develop propositions differentiating these competitive models in core characteristics, draw implications for the classic AMC (awareness, motivation, capability) model of competitive attack and response, and propose contrasting competitive action repertoires. We conclude that socioemotional priorities within family firms have important implications for competitive interaction and suggest a rethinking of current views of competitive dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47661,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Family Business Strategy","volume":"16 2","pages":"Article 100668"},"PeriodicalIF":9.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143917332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marco Mismetti , Barbara Del Bosco , Cristina Bettinelli , Alfredo De Massis
{"title":"The anatomy of family business conflict","authors":"Marco Mismetti , Barbara Del Bosco , Cristina Bettinelli , Alfredo De Massis","doi":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100660","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100660","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding conflict in family businesses is a complex but essential study area for practitioners and academics. To enhance theoretical precision and provide practical insights, this article presents a comprehensive framework of family business conflict that integrates perspectives from the family business, organizational, management, psychology, and political science literature, as well as practitioner expertise. Highlighting important and often overlooked aspects of family business conflict, this study examines the circumstances of conflict (the who, what, where, why, when, and how) and provides a robust conceptualization of conflict dynamics in the unique family business setting. Through three illustrative examples of prominent family firms that have experienced conflict, the study demonstrates the value of the framework as a tool for understanding, theorizing, and effectively managing conflict.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47661,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Family Business Strategy","volume":"16 2","pages":"Article 100660"},"PeriodicalIF":9.5,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143642252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Valeriano Sanchez-Famoso , Cristina Cruz , Mohamed Mazen Batterjee , Jorge-Humberto Mejia-Morelos , Luis Cisneros , Nhu Tuyen LE
{"title":"Socioemotional wealth (SEW) across borders: Integrating national context into SEW research","authors":"Valeriano Sanchez-Famoso , Cristina Cruz , Mohamed Mazen Batterjee , Jorge-Humberto Mejia-Morelos , Luis Cisneros , Nhu Tuyen LE","doi":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2024.100647","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2024.100647","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study addresses the challenges associated with integrating the national context into socioemotional wealth (SEW) research and highlights the consequences of overlooking contextual variations. We emphasize two critical issues: inadequate testing of SEW assumptions and threats to the construct validity of SEW measurement. We recommend that cultural and institutional aspects of the national context should be incorporated to understand how family owners prioritize SEW dimensions, and how their willingness trades off current SEW wealth for prospective financial gains. We also conduct an exploratory study measuring the FIBER scale in Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Vietnam. We survey 1464 family owners to enhance SEW construct validity by probing the cross-country measurement invariance of the FIBER scale. Furthermore, we conduct comparative research to investigate how cultural and institutional aspects shape the FIBER dimensions across national contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47661,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Family Business Strategy","volume":"16 1","pages":"Article 100647"},"PeriodicalIF":9.5,"publicationDate":"2024-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143181536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carlotta Benedetti , Paola Rovelli , Andrea Fronzetti Colladon , Alfredo De Massis , Kurt Matzler
{"title":"CEO identity and media perception: The influence on family firms’ brand importance","authors":"Carlotta Benedetti , Paola Rovelli , Andrea Fronzetti Colladon , Alfredo De Massis , Kurt Matzler","doi":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2024.100646","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2024.100646","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study expands upon previous research on family firm leadership by exploring the role of CEO identity – i.e., family vs. nonfamily CEO – concerning the way media perceive the brand of the family firm– i.e., brand importance. Drawing on endorsement theory, we suggest that CEO identity influences media perception of the family firm and its brand, thereby affecting the extent of brand importance generated by these external stakeholders. Additionally, we propose that the generation of the family controlling the firm may influence the relationship between CEO identity and brand importance. Employing text mining and social network analysis techniques, we use the Semantic Brand Score to measure the importance that media place on family firm brands. Our analysis of a sample of 63 Italian family firms and 52,555 news articles published about these firms shows a positive and significant relation between the presence of a nonfamily CEO and brand importance; nevertheless, this relation is negatively moderated by the family firm generation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47661,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Family Business Strategy","volume":"16 1","pages":"Article 100646"},"PeriodicalIF":9.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142744432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Are family firms’ export relationships more persistent?","authors":"Cristina Aragon-Amonarriz , Cristina Iturrioz-Landart , Raúl Mínguez , Asier Minondo , Francisco Requena","doi":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2024.100649","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jfbs.2024.100649","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the persistence of family firms’ international relationships. We theoretically argue how socioemotional wealth’s gains and losses balancing process supported by network closure allows family firms to develop more persistent relationships with their foreign partners than their non-family counterparts. Our study empirically tests this hypothesis and confirms that export relationship survival is higher in family firms than in their non-family counterparts. We further show that this difference is magnified during economic crises or when operating in culturally distant markets.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47661,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Family Business Strategy","volume":"16 1","pages":"Article 100649"},"PeriodicalIF":9.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142722268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}