Social identity and family business: exploring family social capital

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use social identity theory to explore factors that contribute to the development of family social capital. Effects are investigated both for the family and the business.

Design/methodology/approach

A single in-depth case study focussing on the family unit was coducted within a fourth-generation family business involved in the arts retailing.

Findings

The findings suggest that social identity theory is a useful lens to explore the development of family social capital. The six themes identified highlight that there is a normative and an affective dimension, leading to family members’ desire to uphold the status of the business. Evidence suggests that the normative factors may be both positively and negatively related to the development of family social capital, due to their potentially restrictive nature.

Originality/value

The paper’s findings imply that social identity can contribute to understanding family dynamics. Evidence highlights various factors for family members that are not involved in the family business to uphold its status. This is attributed to the emotional significance of the business to the family’s identity. Furthermore, this paper suggests that the strong focus on norms and values, which developed gradually, may have adverse effects on the identification with the business and the willingness to uphold its status. Propositions are offered to provide guidance for future research to investigate this controversial evidence regarding the impact of value orientation on family social capital.

Citation

Schmidts, T. and Shepherd, D. (2015), "Social identity and family business: exploring family social capital", Journal of Family Business Management, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 157-181. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-04-2015-0018