This systematic literature review contributes to the increasing interest regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) in family firms—a research field that has developed considerably in the last few years. It now provides the opportunity to take a holistic view on the relationship dynamics—i.e., drivers, activities, outcomes, and contextual influences—of family firms with CSR, thus enabling a more coherent organization of current research and a sounder understanding of the phenomenon. To conceptualize the research field, we analyzed 122 peer-reviewed articles published in highly (...) ranked journals identifying the main issues examined. The results clearly show a lack of research regarding CSR outcomes in family firms. Although considered increasingly crucial in family firm research, a study investigating family outcomes (e.g., family community status, family emotional well-being), as opposed to firm outcomes, is missing. This literature review outlines the current state of research and contributes to the actual debate on CSR in family firms by discussing how family firms can use CSR activities as strategic management tools. Moreover, our analysis shows a black box indicating how CSR links different antecedents and outcomes. The black box is significant since firms generally need to know where to allocate their scarce resources to generate the best outcomes. We identify nine research questions based on these findings, which we hope will inspire future research. (shrink)

This paper investigates the layoff behavior, a typical people dimension of corporate social performance, of family firms from a place-based perspective. We theorize that a place-based culture within family firms ensures that all organizational members share a deep sense of connection with the place of operations which makes them inherently care about their impact on society. Using data on layoffs of 2000 largest US firms between 1994 and 2007, we find that family firms do indeed exhibit a lower tendency to (...) lay off employees in comparison to non-family firms; this relationship is particularly strong in ‘places’ with low population where the negative social externalities related to layoffs tend to be higher. Further post hoc analyses indicate that family firms have a strong place-based culture which can provide resource-based competitive advantages. (shrink)

Sustainable luxury is a strategic issue for managers and for society, yet it remains poorly understood. This research seeks to clarify how corporate social responsibility actions directly and indirectly affect consumers’ willingness to pay a premium price for luxury brand products, as well as how a long-term orientation might moderate these relationships. A scenario study presents fictional CSR actions of two brands, representing different luxury products, to 1,049 respondents from two countries. The results of a structural equation modeling approach show (...) that the luxury brands’ CSR actions negatively affect customer WTPP overall and for each brand. The luxury brands’ functional and symbolic value dimensions positively mediate the effects of CSR actions on WTPP, whereas social value does not. The effects of CSR actions and brand symbolic value on WTTP do not differ between countries. The effect of functional value on WTPP differs across countries, such that it is stronger for high-LTO than low-LTO cultures. Inversely, the effect of social on customer WTPP is stronger for low-LTO than high-LTO cultures. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for luxury brand managers. (shrink)

Are green patents granted to family firms perceived more favorably by the market than those granted to non-family firms? Using a sample of 8918 green patents granted to family and non-family firms between 2014 and 2018, our study shows that it depends on the attributes of the green patent. Integrating the green innovation and family firm literatures with signaling theory, we develop a theoretical framework that highlights the need for family firms to balance their pursuit of green innovation with signals (...) of innovation stability and due diligence so as to gain the greatest market value from their green patents. In contrast, we theorize that green patents offer nonfamily firms the greatest gain in market value when they signal innovation radicalness and newness. While our results show that the stock market reaction does not vary significantly between family and non-family firms, when we consider the attributes of green patents, we find that compared to nonfamily firms, family firms with longer green patent grant lags realize a more positive market reaction whereas those with higher patent radicalness experience a more negative market reaction. As such, our study suggests that the types of green patents that garner the greatest market value differ for family and nonfamily firms. The findings are robust to alternate family firm definitions, and additional robustness checks. (shrink)

Despite important research advances in the areas of family firm ownership, social capital, and bribe payments, their three-way theoretical and empirical relationship remains unexplored. To address this gap in the literature we use a sample of 13,639 firms from 25 developing countries and examine whether and how social capital moderates the association between family firm ownership and bribe payments. The results show that greater family ownership is associated with a higher proportion of sales paid in bribes. Consistent with our expectations, (...) country-level social capital moderates this relationship. As country-level social capital increases, the positive impact of family ownership falls and after a certain threshold the relationship between family ownership and bribe payments becomes negative. Social capital also moderates the relationship between family involvement in key managerial positions and bribe payments. Finally, the results show that the moderating role of social capital is facilitated by its components of social and civil participation, personal and family relationships, and social networks; however, the components of interpersonal and institutional trust do not appear to play a moderating role. (shrink)

This paper presents a study on how corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies create value amongst family and non-family firms. Additionally, in our study, we considered the moderating effect of independent directors on the relationship between CSR and firm value. Based on data drawn from companies operating in 61 countries over an 11-year period (i.e. from 2010 to 2020), our findings demonstrate that non-family firms derive market benefits from the governance improvements made by independent directors concerning CSR strategies. In contrast, the (...) CSR strategies promoted within family firms are associated with lower firm value. However, this negative association is neutralised by the role played by independent directors, especially when the company is controlled by succeeding generations and not just by the founding one. These directors play a dissuasive role that leads family members to reassess their external socio-emotional preferences (reputation, image, etc.) in order to uphold the internal priorities of day-to-day decision-making. Our study has important implications for research and practice. (shrink)

The goal of this study is to reveal which contextual factors can shape ethical behaviour and decision-making in family firms (FFs), with the aim to uncover emerging themes that help set the stage for future work on FF ethics. To do so, we conducted an integrative literature review. By systematically collecting, reviewing 90 studies and synthesizing their key findings with prior theoretical foundations in the FF field, we demonstrate how personal and family values, preservation of socioemotional wealth, generation succession and (...) structural factors (e.g. FF size, FF life cycle) can affect ethical decision-making in FFs. We also provide propositions and research pathways to orient future studies. (shrink)