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The field of scientific research on small and medium-sized family businesses has been growing exponentially and the aim of this paper is to systematize the body of knowledge to develop an agenda for the future.

Adopting comparative bibliometric analyses on 155 articles (from 1989 until 2018) the authors provide a systematic assessment of the scientific research about small family firms, unveiling the structure and evolution of the field. Bibliographic coupling, co-citation analysis and co-occurrence analysis are adopted to identify the most influential studies and themes.

Four clusters of research are reviewed: succession in family SMEs, performances of family SMEs, internationalization of family SMEs and organizational culture of family SMEs.

This paper contributes to the field of family SMEs by providing a systematic analysis of the scientific knowledge. Reviewing those clusters allows to providing avenues and reflections for future research and further practice.

The relationship between risk and return has been widely analysed in the scope of listed companies. However the present literature leaves uncovered an important study area with regards to privately held firms. In order to cover this gap, this study analyses the risk-return trade-off in the context of private enterprises. Furthermore, the authors incorporate the contingent effect of being a family firm on the abovementioned relationship.

Using information from the SABI (Sistema de Análisis de Balances Ibéricos) database, a sample of 2,297 private manufacturing firms were analysed for the period of 2009–2016. So as to ascertain the proposed hypotheses, dynamic panel data methodology was applied. Specifically, the authors estimated the two-step general method of moments (GMM).

The obtained findings reveal that, according to prospect theory arguments, privately held firms adopt a conservative attitude toward risk when results are higher than a target level, while becoming risk seeking when results are lower than a target level. Moreover, the fact of being a family firm softens the risk-return relationship both when performance is above the target level and also when firms find themselves in the lowest performing case.

This article is, to the best of the authors' knowledge, one of the first studies dealing with the risk-return relationship in a privately held firm context. Moreover, the inclusion of being a family firm as a contingent factor in the abovementioned link is a complete novelty.

La relación riesgo-rentabilidad ha sido ampliamente analizada en el ámbito de las empresas cotizadas. Sin embargo, la literatura existente deja al descubierto una importante área de estudio en relación con las empresas no cotizadas. Para cubrir esta brecha, el presente estudio analiza el binomio riesgo-rentabilidad en el contexto de empresas privadas. Adicionalmente, incorporamos el efecto contingente de ser una empresa familiar sobre esta relación.

Utilizando información de la base de datos SABI (Sistema de Análisis de Balances Ibéricos) se analizó una muestra de 2.297 empresas manufactureras privadas para el período 2009–2016. Para comprobar las hipótesis propuestas se aplicó la metodología de datos de panel, específicamente, utilizamos el Método de los Momentos Generalizado (GMM).

Los resultados muestran que, de acuerdo con la Teoría Prospectiva, las empresas no cotizadas presentan una mayor aversión al riesgo cuando su nivel de rentabilidad es superior al valor de referencia establecido, mientras que presentan una mayor propensión al riesgo cuando su rentabilidad es inferior al valor de referencia. Además, el hecho de ser una empresa familiar suaviza la relación riesgo-rentabilidad en ambos escenarios.

Este es uno de los primeros estudios en abordar la relación riesgo-rentabilidad en el contexto de empresas no cotizadas. Además, la inclusión de ser una empresa familiar como factor contingente es completamente novedosa.

There is still an ongoing debate on the value relevance of capital structure and its determinants. Recently the issue has been explored in family firms after being explored in mature firms. This paper investigates the role of institutional investors and the firm's innovation activity in influencing the firm's decision and ability to acquire debt capital.

A large sample of 700 privately-held family firms in Italy from 2010 to 2019. Two analysis techniques are used: panel analysis and path analysis. The value of debt and the debt ratio are used as leverage measures. The value of patent (as a proxy for innovation) and institutional investor are the explanatory variables.

The results show that institutional investors have no relationship with financial leverage measures except when controlling for an interaction variable (Institutional investors × Lombardy region). The patent value is positively correlated with debt; however, the ratio patent-to-asset is negatively related to financial leverage indicating higher risk exposure. The nonlinearity test demonstrates a turning point when the relationship between patent value and debt inverts.

Firms should monitor their innovation activity since excessive innovation increases risk exposure and affects financing opportunities and value. The involvement of institutional investors does not always enhance value.

Existing literature focuses separately on family firm innovations and financial leverage as outcome variables, emphasizing the role of institutional investors in both fields by adopting agency theory and socioemotional wealth framework. In this study, the authors go further by merging both relationships, investigating the dynamics of the institutional-family firm innovation relationship in influencing the firm's capital structure. The authors contribute to the ongoing debate by providing original findings on capital structure, governance and innovation, supported by rigorous methods to enhance family firms' decision-making.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the empirical relationship between gray directors (non-executive non-independent directors) and executive compensation among companies listed in India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE). The paper also examines the possible interplay of relationships between controlling shareholder duality (controlling shareholder being the CEO), ownership category and executive compensation.

A sample of 438 firms listed in the NSE of India was studied using data spanning five financial years, 2012–2013 to 2016–2017.

Empirical evidence suggests that there is a positive association between the proportion of gray directors on the board and executive compensation. The sensitivity of executive compensation to gray directors is found to be higher among family controlled firms. This research has also found that CEOs who belong to controlling shareholder groups received higher pay than professional CEOs. The authors conjecture that these results suggest cronyism and may contribute to lower levels of corporate governance practices in the country.

The hybrid board structure, which India has adopted with the desire to bring the best of Anglo Saxon and Japanese board philosophies, has paradoxically led to self-serving boards. Exploration of alternative thinking to bring about changes in the regulatory framework is, therefore, necessary.

Serious problems are identified with the philosophy behind board composition mandated by Listing Requirements for Indian firms with empirical evidence showing how the existing rules generate cronyism and unfairness to minority shareholders.

Drawing on upper echelons theory (UET) and arguments from behavioral theory of the firm, this paper aims to contribute to the debate on family involvement-performance relationship, by considering the mediating role of the propensity towards merger and acquisition (M&A) and the moderating role of performance feedback.

The hypotheses are tested by applying a moderated mediation analysis on a sample of 111 German family firms. First, a mediation model is run to verify the mediation role of the propensity towards M&A; then, to evaluate the magnitude of the mediation at different values of the moderator (performance feedback), conditional indirect effects are tested using normal-theory standard errors and bootstrapping procedure.

The main findings suggest that a higher percentage of family members sitting in TMT is related to better performance and that this effect is mediated by the propensity towards M&A. Furthermore, findings also show that a higher percentage of family managers is positively related to the propensity towards M&A and, in turn, exerts a positive effect of firm performance, especially when performance feedback is negative.

The paper suggests to family firms' managers that when performance feedback is negative, a riskier behavior, such as M&A, could represent a way to improve firm performance.

The paper provides a full application of UET to the context of family firms, offers the point of view of TMT, instead of that of ownership, to study the propensity towards M&A in family firms and goes beyond the rational view to explain family managers' risk-taking behaviors.

This study assesses the capability of artificial intelligence integrated customer relationship management (AI-CRM) technology for sustaining family businesses in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also investigates the moderating role of strategic intent in sustaining family businesses in times of crisis.

The authors used dynamic capability view theory and related literature on family business and technology adoption to develop a conceptual model. This model has been validated using the structural equation modeling technique considering 332 usable responses from people of India involved in family businesses and technology adoption. The study also uses multigroup analysis to examine the moderating role of strategic intent.

The study finds that adoption of AI-CRM technology significantly and positively impacts dynamic capabilities of the family businesses, such as sensing, seizing and transforming capabilities, which in turn positively and significantly influences their sustainability during crises. The study also highlights the significant moderating impact of strategic intent for sustaining family business firms in uncertain times.

This study has highlighted the importance for family businesses to adopt AI-CRM technology and its influence on their dynamic capabilities. The study also provides important inputs to the management of family businesses regarding adoption of new technologies and their significance during crises. The study also documents that strategic intent could help family businesses to survive during such times. The study is conducted in India and thus cannot be generalized.

This study table is unique in that it investigates the influence of AI-CRM technology and the moderating role of strategic intent on family business sustainability in times of crisis. Moreover, the proposed theoretical model is a unique model with explanative power of 71%.

The purpose of this paper is to explore board functions and their location in family firms.

Through structured induction in a four-case study of medium-sized Swedish family firms, the authors demonstrate that board functions can be located in other arenas than in the common board and suggest propositions that explain their distribution.

(1) The board is but one of several arenas where board functions are performed. (2) The functions performed by the board vary in type and emphasis. (3) The non-family directors in a family firm serve the owners, even sometimes governing them, in what the authors term “bidirectional governance”. (4) The kin strategy of the family influences their governance. (5) The utilization of a board for governance stems from the family (together with its constitution, kin strategy and governance strategy), the board composition and the business conditions of the firm.

Being a case study the findings are restricted to concepts and theoretical propositions. Using structured induction, the study is not solely inductive but still contains the subjectivity of induction.

Governance agents should have an instrumental view on the board, considering it one possible governance arena among others, thereby economizing on governance.

The institutional pressure toward active boards could paradoxically reduce the importance of the board in family firms.

The board of a family company differs in its emphasis of board functions and these functions are performed with varying emphases in different governance arenas. The authors propose the concept of kin strategy, which refers to the governance importance of the structure of the owner and observations on bi-directional governance, indicating that the board can govern the owners.

Building on behavioral agency theory, the authors explore the role played by corporate governance characteristics as drivers of the diversification strategies of family firms. Specifically, this study aims to investigate the effects of board size and board gender diversity on the likelihood that family firms will execute a diversifying acquisition vis-à-vis a related acquisition. Furthermore, the authors investigate the contingency effects played by foreign directorship and the firm’s listing status.

The hypotheses are tested on an original sample of 213 cross-border acquisitions executed by Italian family firms between 2008 and 2021.

The findings suggest that both large board sizes and greater gender diversity positively affect the diversification of family firms. While the presence of foreign directors magnifies the positive effect of board size, gender diversity discourages diversification in the case of listed firms.

The originality of this study is twofold. First, while prior literature has mostly focused on the family vs nonfamily dichotomy, this paper contributes to an emergent line of research investigating the heterogeneity among family firms’ corporate strategy decisions. Second, by exploring the corporate governance-diversification link in the context of family business, the authors answer to recent calls that diversification by family firms deserves further investigation in light of its highly controversial nature in terms of socioemotional wealth implications and potential mismatch among multiple objectives.

This study investigates the relationship between board gender diversity (BGD) and the time to Initial Public Offering (IPO), which stands as an entrepreneurially risky choice, particularly challenging in family firms. We also investigate the moderating role of family ownership dispersion (FOD).

We draw on an integrated theoretical framework bringing together the upper echelons theory and the socio-emotional wealth (SEW) perspective and on hand-collected data on a sample of Italian family IPOs that occurred in the period 2000–2020. We employ ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and alternative model estimations to test our hypotheses.

BGD positively affects the time to IPO, thus, it increases the time required to go public. FOD negatively moderates this relationship. Our findings remain robust with different measures for BGD, FOD, and family business definition as well as with different econometric models.

The article develops literature on family firms and IPO and it enriches the academic debate about gender and IPOs in family firms. It adds to studies addressing the determinants of the time to IPO by incorporating gender diversity and the FOD into the discussion. Finally, it contributes to research on women and outcomes in family firms.

This chapter presents the current research status of family constitutions from an economics perspective. It locates the family constitution as part of the family and business governance structure of a family firm and the owner family. The typical structure and content of a family constitution are introduced. The chapter focuses on the status of research about family constitutions and provides a structured map for future research. With regard to extant research, it must be stated that the stock of literature is small. The contributions to literature are categorized in surveys; conceptual contributions; survey data; small sample, qualitative, empirical studies; and big sample, quantitative, empirical studies. The latter group includes three studies with a separate family constitution variable. This small number symbolizes that the family constitution still is an under-researched area. Therefore, family constitution research is far away from being able to answer central questions of advice-seeking owner families like, for example, whether a family constitution affects family performance, firm performance, or both; or whether the development process of a family constitutions disposes of an effect on family or firm performance separately from the hypothesized effect of the family constitution document.