Abstract
Mental health issues in family businesses and business families have been studied in multiple disciplines within the past three decades. This article systematically reviews 51 articles on mental health issues in family businesses and business families, published in a wide variety of psychology, entrepreneurship, and management journals. Based on a systematic review of extant literature, this article first provides an overview of the state of the art, followed by specific suggestions on novel research questions, theoretical frameworks and study design. This way, the review systematizes evidence on known antecedents and consequences of mental health issues in family businesses and business families, but also reveals overlooked and undertheorized drivers and outcomes. The review reveals major gaps in our knowledge that hinder a valid understanding of mental health in the specific context of family businesses and business families, and articulates specific research questions that could be tackled by future research among management as well as mental health scholars. Finally, we point to the relevance of this study for policy makers, family business advisors, therapists and managers.
Highlights
Mental health and psychosocial wellbeing were included as an integral part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 for the first time, thereby recognizing it as a global development priority [1]
In this paper we systematically review the literature on drivers and outcomes of mental health issues within family businesses and business families
The objective of this review is, to address the following three research questions: what is the current state of the literature on mental health issues in family businesses and business families? (RQ1); what are the implications for future research in this domain? (RQ2); and what are the implications for policy makers, family business advisors, therapists and owners? (RQ3) In an attempt to answer these research questions, we present the state of the art on mental health issues in the context of family businesses and business families
Summary
Mental health and psychosocial wellbeing were included as an integral part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 for the first time, thereby recognizing it as a global development priority [1]. The central aim of this systematic literature review is to draw attention to mental health issues as a research area that could benefit from being positioned more centrally and in a multidisciplinary way in management, family business, psychology and public health literature. To this end, we assess the literature of drivers and outcomes of mental health issues in the family business system (i.e., at the individual-family- and business-level), to provide guidance to policy makers and practitioners and to inspire future research on this topic. Gaps in literature are identified and potentially fruitful avenues for future research (in terms of relevant research questions, theoretical frameworks, and research methods) are articulated as well as insights and recommendations for policy makers and family business advisors and mental healthcare providers
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