What does the owner-manager want and get out of a business? Are family firms different?

Abstract

This paper aims to contribute to the existing knowledge of family firms and small business management. Small business owners have to carefully balance individual and business needs when making decisions about the extraction of profits from the company, most notably in times such as the current economic downturn. In many circumstances owner-managers will sacrifice their drawings in order to secure the future growth or even the survival of the firm. This may be even more pronounced in small family businesses. First, we show that small family firms’ owner-managers differ from other small firm owner-managers in terms of the amount and type of drawings they take from the company. Secondly, we examine the role of owner-manager work values as a potential link between family involvement and drawings strategy.