Corporate Sustainability in Family Firms – a systematic literature review and research agenda

Abstract

The literature on corporate sustainability in family firms has been inconsistent and heterogeneous. The aim of this systematic literature review was to build a conceptual framework that structures and guides corporate sustainability findings. A systematic literature search was performed in four databases using search terms related to various corporate sustainability concepts and yielded 1348 published papers on corporate sustainability. Based on rigorous selection criteria, 60 empirical articles are analyzed abductively (by deconstructing each study into corporate governance, signaling and stakeholder theory). The results show that family firms overperform non-family firms regarding corporate sustainability activities. Moreover, family influence in management strengthens corporate sustainability performance, which increases the firm’s value. Family firms also profit from corporate sustainability disclosure regarding economic and non-economic measures like reputation, corporate sustainability engagement fosters networks among stakeholders. This study structures the field of sustainability research in family business and provides a theoretical framework that guides practitioners and future research.