Editorial: introduction to and overview of the special issue on family business

Abstract

This paper is an introduction and overview of a Special Issue of EJIM on Family Business. All of the articles in this Special Issue use data from the 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) that involved surveys from over 54 countries on entrepreneurial activity and family businesses. The articles span a wide range of topics that fall under three broad categories: context, organisation and outcomes. Articles covering context focus on the institutionalisation of family business in the cultural environment, rural and urban regions, and whether the pull of opportunity or the push of necessity may be related to governance of businesses by family or non-family members. Articles covering organisation focus on a variety of organisational features that differentiate between family and non-family businesses, notably survival, age, growth and familiness in forms of ownership, management and staffing. Articles covering outcomes examine family business endeavours, such as innovation, exporting and aspirations for growth.