Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 2017

The Effect of Transgenerational Control Intention on Family-Firm Performance: It Depends Who Pursues It

Christian Hoffmann¹; Peter Jaskiewicz²; Torsten Wulf¹; James G. Combs³

¹ Philipps University of Marburg · ² University of Ottawa · ³ University of Central Florida

Abstract

Transgenerational control intention (TCI) is a pivotal characteristic of many family firms. Yet, it remains unclear whether TCI benefits family-firm performance by instilling a long-term view, or hurts performance by fueling harmful socioemotional wealth (SEW) goals. We posit that it depends who pursues it. When faced with TCI, family managers are known to suffer from cognitive biases that, we submit, do not similarly apply to nonfamily managers. Thus, only family managers harm performance when pursuing TCI. An empirical investigation of 107 private German family firms supports our theory; the effect of TCI on firm performance depends on who pursues it.

DOI

10.1177/1042258717730025

Sources

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APA 7 MLA 9 Chicago (author–date) Harvard Elsevier Harvard (JFE, JBF…) The Accounting Review Academy of Management American Marketing Association INFORMS (Management Science) Copy citation Copied ✓