Managing Family Business

Abstract

The study of family business involves interrelationships of owners, managers and employees, and family members, all functioning within broad cultural, legal, competitive, and other environments. Foundational disciplines for investigating family business management practices include anthropology, economics, family studies, history, psychology, and sociology. Additional contributing fields include agriculture, various business disciplines, early childhood education, and family behavior (among others). Early contributions to the family business literature came predominantly from biographies and autobiographies of family business owners and from consultants to families active in business who shared their observations and advice based on their experience. With the introduction of the journal Family Business Review, the subsequent launch of other journals addressing the subject, and the initiation of academic conferences on family business research, the knowledge base of the field has expanded rapidly. The domain of managing family business now encompasses the dynamics of families that exercise control over enterprises as well as the performance of those companies. The notion of management includes both the business and the family, separate as well as together. Major themes addressed in the family business literature are succession, governance, and financial and wealth management. With increased research contributions from scholars in diverse fields, there has been an expansion in topics being covered. In this article, the focus is on the state of knowledge regarding the management of the family firm. The materials cited in this bibliography introduce scholars to seminal contributions to the family business management literature and to books and journal articles that are expected to influence forthcoming streams of research.