Extending the Theoretical Horizons of Family Business Research‪.‬

Family-owned firms account for a large percentage of the economic activities in the United States and Canada. Estimates run from 40 to 60 percent of the U.S. gross national product (Neubauer & Lank, 1998), in addition to employment for up to six million Canadians (Deloitte & Touche, 1999). Their influence is likely even larger elsewhere. (1) Researchers in family business believe that family involvement makes a family business distinct from a nonfamily business. Unfortunately, our understanding of the nature of this distinction and its impact on firm performance is incomplete. We currently have a limited understanding of how family members interact to affect the visions and goals of a family firm and how they create the unique resources, capabilities, costs, and problems that make a family firm behave and perform differently. Also, while a family firm might be performing well at the individual level, some suggest that it is useful to consider how the economic domination of most nations by family businesses enhances or impedes overall societal wealth creation. To a large extent, ignorance about the uniqueness of family firms and the nature of their economic contributions has prevented the development of a rigorous integrated theory of family firms.