IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ememar/v69y2025ics1566014125001086.html

Family firms and risk taking: Does the integration of ESG practices matter?

Author

Listed:
  • Khaw, Karren Lee-Hwei
  • Wei, Yi
  • Ma, Shiyue

Abstract

This study examines the evolving risk-taking behavior of family firms and the role of ESG integration in mitigating excessive risk-taking. Traditionally viewed as risk-averse, family firms are increasingly engaging in higher risk-taking to enhance competitiveness and sustain long-term growth. We find that ESG adoption significantly reduces risk-taking in family firms by improving internal control quality, governance transparency, and reducing financial constraint, thereby strengthening overall corporate resilience. Robustness tests confirm these findings, while heterogeneity analysis reveals variations across firm life cycles, ownership structures, and industry contexts. Overall, ESG serves as a crucial governance mechanism, balancing strategic risk-taking with long-term sustainability in family firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Khaw, Karren Lee-Hwei & Wei, Yi & Ma, Shiyue, 2025. "Family firms and risk taking: Does the integration of ESG practices matter?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:69:y:2025:i:c:s1566014125001086
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ememar.2025.101359
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566014125001086
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ememar.2025.101359?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ahsan Habib & Mostafa Monzur Hasan, 2017. "Firm life cycle, corporate risk-taking and investor sentiment," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(2), pages 465-497, June.
    2. Mara Faccio & Maria-Teresa Marchica & Roberto Mura, 2011. "Large Shareholder Diversification and Corporate Risk-Taking," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(11), pages 3601-3641.
    3. Lian, Yonghui & Ye, Tao & Zhang, Yiyang & Zhang, Lin, 2023. "How does corporate ESG performance affect bond credit spreads: Empirical evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 352-371.
    4. Fatemi, Ali & Glaum, Martin & Kaiser, Stefanie, 2018. "ESG performance and firm value: The moderating role of disclosure," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 45-64.
    5. John Bingham & W. Gibb Dyer & Isaac Smith & Gregory Adams, 2011. "A Stakeholder Identity Orientation Approach to Corporate Social Performance in Family Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(4), pages 565-585, April.
    6. Sabri Boubaker & Pascal Nguyen & Wael Rouatbi, 2016. "Multiple Large Shareholders and Corporate Risk†taking: Evidence from French Family Firms," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 22(4), pages 697-745, September.
    7. Luen Peng Tan & Kum Lung Choe & Yin Kuan Ng & Ka Fei Lai & Hooi Ching Khor, 2023. "The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) In Malaysia SME: A Case Study of Vitrox," Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, in: Yuen Onn Choong & Fanyu Chen & Keng Soon William Choo & Voon Hsien Lee & Chooi Yi Wei (ed.), Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Business, Accounting, Finance and Economics (BAFE 2023), pages 344-356, Springer.
    8. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:1301-1327 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Darren D. Lee & Robert W. Faff, 2009. "Corporate Sustainability Performance and Idiosyncratic Risk: A Global Perspective," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 44(2), pages 213-237, May.
    10. Wu, Bao & Chen, Feng & Li, Lanhua & Xu, Lei & Liu, Zijia & Wu, Yaoyao, 2025. "Institutional investor ESG activism and exploratory green innovation: Unpacking the heterogeneous responses of family firms across intergenerational contexts," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(4).
    11. Le Ha Nhu Thao & Jolán Velencei, 2018. "Literature review: the impact of corporate social responsibilty on firm performance," Proceedings- 11th International Conference on Mangement, Enterprise and Benchmarking (MEB 2018),, Óbuda University, Keleti Faculty of Business and Management.
    12. Remmer Sassen & Anne-Kathrin Hinze & Inga Hardeck, 2016. "Impact of ESG factors on firm risk in Europe," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 86(8), pages 867-904, November.
    13. Villalonga, Belen & Amit, Raphael, 2006. "How do family ownership, control and management affect firm value?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 385-417, May.
    14. Daniel L. Mcconaughy & Charles H. Matthews & Anne S. Fialko, 2001. "Founding Family Controlled Firms: Performance, Risk, and Value," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 31-49, January.
    15. Jara, Mauricio & López-Iturriaga, Félix J. & Torres, Juan Pablo, 2021. "Firm value and pyramidal structures: New evidence for family firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 399-412.
    16. Du, Shanzhong & Ma, Lianfu & Li, Zhuo, 2022. "Non-family shareholder governance and corporate risk-taking: Evidence from Chinese family-controlled businesses," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 156-170.
    17. Hainmueller, Jens, 2012. "Entropy Balancing for Causal Effects: A Multivariate Reweighting Method to Produce Balanced Samples in Observational Studies," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 25-46, January.
    18. Fama, Eugene F, 1980. "Agency Problems and the Theory of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(2), pages 288-307, April.
    19. Maretno Harjoto & Indrarini Laksmana, 2018. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Risk Taking and Firm Value," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 353-373, August.
    20. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He & Kwok, Chuck C.Y., 2016. "Family control and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 131-146.
    21. Jiang, Fuxiu & Jiang, Zhan & Kim, Kenneth A. & Zhang, Min, 2015. "Family-firm risk-taking: Does religion matter?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 260-278.
    22. Jiang, Jiaoliang & Chen, Yulin, 2021. "How does labor protection influence corporate risk-taking? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    23. Patricio Duran & Nadine Kammerlander & Marc van Essen & Thomas Zellweger, 2016. "Doing More with Less : Innovation Input and Output in Family Firms," Post-Print hal-02312103, HAL.
    24. Mark Lang & Karl V. Lins & Mark Maffett, 2012. "Transparency, Liquidity, and Valuation: International Evidence on When Transparency Matters Most," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 50(3), pages 729-774, June.
    25. Najah Attig & Narjess Boubakri & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami, 2016. "The Global Financial Crisis, Family Control, and Dividend Policy," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 45(2), pages 291-313, May.
    26. Choi, Young Rok & Zahra, Shaker A. & Yoshikawa, Toru & Han, Bong H., 2015. "Family ownership and R&D investment: The role of growth opportunities and business group membership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 1053-1061.
    27. Nekhili, Mehdi & Nagati, Haithem & Chtioui, Tawhid & Rebolledo, Claudia, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility disclosure and market value: Family versus nonfamily firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 41-52.
    28. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 1999. "Corporate Ownership Around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 471-517, April.
    29. Jiang, Hongli & Hu, Wenjie & Jiang, Pengcheng, 2024. "Does ESG performance affect corporate tax avoidance? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    30. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    31. Kose John & Lubomir Litov & Bernard Yeung, 2008. "Corporate Governance and Risk‐Taking," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1679-1728, August.
    32. Maquieira, Carlos P. & Arias, José T. & Espinosa-Méndez, Christian, 2024. "The impact of ESG on the default risk of family firms: International evidence," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    33. Chai Bin-Feng & Sultan Sikandar Mirza & Tanveer Ahsan & Raheel Safdar & Amjad Iqbal & Mustansar Hayat, 2022. "Family control and corporate risk-taking in China: Does working capital strategy matter?," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 4280-4299, December.
    34. repec:hal:journl:hal-02311990 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. Tsang, Albert & Frost, Tracie & Cao, Huijuan, 2023. "Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure: A literature review," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    36. Adhikari, Binay K., 2016. "Causal effect of analyst following on corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 201-216.
    37. He, Feng & Ding, Cong & Yue, Wei & Liu, Guanchun, 2023. "ESG performance and corporate risk-taking: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    38. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 2008. "Theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," RAE - Revista de Administração de Empresas, FGV-EAESP Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (Brazil), vol. 48(2), April.
    39. Ma, Liangbo, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility reporting in family firms: Evidence from China," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    40. Mark Kohlbeck & Hye Seung (Grace) Lee & Brian Mayhew & Jesus M. Salas, 2023. "Do related party transactions affect family firm valuations?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(9-10), pages 1984-2020, October.
    41. Patricio Duran & Nadine Kammerlander & Marc van Essen & Thomas Zellweger, 2016. "Doing More with Less : Innovation Input and Output in Family Firms," Post-Print hal-02276703, HAL.
    42. Yung-Ming Shiu & Shou-Lin Yang, 2017. "Does engagement in corporate social responsibility provide strategic insurance-like effects?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 455-470, February.
    43. Chen, Mengyuan & Xiao, Jason Zezhong & Zhao, Yang, 2021. "Confucianism, successor choice, and firm performance in family firms: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    44. Abeysekera, Amal P. & Fernando, Chitru S., 2020. "Corporate social responsibility versus corporate shareholder responsibility: A family firm perspective," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    45. Salvatore Sciascia & Pietro Mazzola & Joseph Astrachan & Torsten Pieper, 2012. "The role of family ownership in international entrepreneurship: exploring nonlinear effects," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 15-31, January.
    46. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb, 2003. "Founding‐Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1301-1328, June.
    47. Azizi, Mohammad & Salmani Bidgoli, Masoud & Maley, Jane F. & Dabić, Marina, 2022. "A stewardship perspective in family firms: A new perspective for altruism and social capital," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 764-775.
    48. Purkayastha, Saptarshi & Veliyath, Rajaram & George, Rejie, 2019. "The roles of family ownership and family management in the governance of agency conflicts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 50-64.
    49. Zhao, Tianjiao & Xiao, Xiang, 2019. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on financial constraints: Does the life cycle stage of a firm matter?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 76-93.
    50. An, Heng & Zhang, Ting, 2013. "Stock price synchronicity, crash risk, and institutional investors," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 1-15.
    51. Randall Morck & Bernard Yeung, 2003. "Agency Problems in Large Family Business Groups," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 27(4), pages 367-382, October.
    52. Boubakri, Narjess & Cosset, Jean-Claude & Saffar, Walid, 2013. "The role of state and foreign owners in corporate risk-taking: Evidence from privatization," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 641-658.
    53. Heitor V. Almeida & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2006. "A Theory of Pyramidal Ownership and Family Business Groups," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2637-2680, December.
    54. Li, Nian & Xu, Nianhang & Dong, Rui & Chan, Kam C. & Lin, Xiaowei, 2021. "Does an anti-corruption campaign increase analyst earnings forecast optimism?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    55. Chi, Yi & Hu, Ning & Lu, Dong & Yang, Yang, 2023. "Green investment funds and corporate green innovation: From the logic of social value," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    56. Lee, Eun Jung & Chae, Joon & Lee, Yu Kyung, 2018. "Family ownership and risk taking," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 69-75.
    57. Steven N. Kaplan & Luigi Zingales, 1997. "Do Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 169-215.
    58. Nguyen, Pascal, 2011. "Corporate governance and risk-taking: Evidence from Japanese firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 278-297, June.
    59. Khaw, Karren Lee-Hwei & Liao, Jing & Tripe, David & Wongchoti, Udomsak, 2016. "Gender diversity, state control, and corporate risk-taking: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 141-158.
    60. Yáñez-Araque, Benito & Sánchez-Infante Hernández, Juan Pablo & Gutiérrez-Broncano, Santiago & Jiménez-Estévez, Pedro, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility in micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises: Multigroup analysis of family vs. nonfamily firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 581-592.
    61. Toni M. Whited & Guojun Wu, 2006. "Financial Constraints Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(2), pages 531-559.
    62. Faccio, Mara & Marchica, Maria-Teresa & Mura, Roberto, 2016. "CEO gender, corporate risk-taking, and the efficiency of capital allocation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 193-209.
    63. Chai Bin-Feng & Sultan Sikandar Mirza & Tanveer Ahsan & Raheel Safdar & Amjad Iqbal & Mustansar Hayat, 2022. "Family control and corporate risk-taking in China: Does working capital strategy matter?," Post-Print hal-03882210, HAL.
    64. David G. Sirmon & Michael A. Hitt, 2003. "Managing Resources: Linking Unique Resources, Management, and Wealth Creation in Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 27(4), pages 339-358, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Yuan & He, Xiaogang, 2026. "Chairperson's intra-country migrant marriage and corporate R&D investment: Evidence from Chinese family firms," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Isabel Abinzano & Pilar Corredor & Beatriz Martinez, 2021. "Does family ownership always reduce default risk?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 4025-4060, September.
    2. Poletti-Hughes, Jannine & Williams, Jonathan, 2019. "The effect of family control on value and risk-taking in Mexico: A socioemotional wealth approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 369-381.
    3. Dorra Ellouze & Khadija Mnasri, 2019. "Risk-taking behaviour of family firms: evidence from Tunisia," Post-Print hal-02999642, HAL.
    4. Maquieira, Carlos P. & Arias, José T. & Espinosa-Méndez, Christian, 2024. "The impact of ESG on the default risk of family firms: International evidence," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    5. Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2018. "Do firms with state ownership in transitional economies take more risk? Evidence from Vietnam," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 251-256.
    6. Cheng Zhang & Le Luo, 2021. "Board diversity and risk-taking of family firms: Evidence from China," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1569-1590, December.
    7. Attig, Najah & Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck & Pittman, Jeffrey, 2020. "Are insiders equal? Evidence from earnings management in closely held East Asian firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    8. Jiang, Jiaoliang & Chen, Yulin, 2021. "How does labor protection influence corporate risk-taking? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    9. Lee, Tingko, 2019. "Management ties and firm performance: Influence of family governance," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 105-118.
    10. Hanqing “Chevy” Fang & Kulraj Singh & Taewoo Kim & Laura Marler & James J. Chrisman, 2022. "Family business research in Asia: review and future directions," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 1215-1256, December.
    11. Sabri Boubaker & Riadh Manita & Wael Rouatbi, 2021. "Large shareholders, control contestability and firm productive efficiency," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 296(1), pages 591-614, January.
    12. Minghui Yang & Yan Wang & Lu Bai & Petra Maresova, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility, family involvement, and stock price crash risk," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1204-1225, May.
    13. Isabel-María García-Sánchez & Lázaro Rodríguez-Ariza & Cristina Aibar-Guzmán & Huda Khan & Nadia Zahoor & Shlomo Y. Tarba, 2025. "Value Creating Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies of Family and Non-Family Firms: An Interventionist Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 202(1), pages 161-201, November.
    14. Kowalik, Elena, 2023. "Ethical Problems in Family Firms," Junior Management Science (JUMS), Junior Management Science e. V., vol. 8(2), pages 431-452.
    15. Sabri Boubaker & Pascal Nguyen & Wael Rouatbi, 2016. "Multiple Large Shareholders and Corporate Risk†taking: Evidence from French Family Firms," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 22(4), pages 697-745, September.
    16. Guo, Jintong & Ding, Rui & Zhang, Ziyi & Zhang, Min, 2025. "Top executives' emotional stability and firm risk-taking: A machine learning-based study," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    17. Agarwal, Anushka & Chaudhry, Neeru, 2022. "Foreign controlling shareholders and corporate investment," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    18. Mueller, Simon, 2023. "Innovation Performance of Family and Founder Firms: Empirical Evidence from German Listed Companies," Junior Management Science (JUMS), Junior Management Science e. V., vol. 8(2), pages 333-357.
    19. Du, Shanzhong & Cao, June, 2023. "Non-family shareholder governance and green innovation of family firms: A socio-emotional wealth theory perspective," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    20. He, Feng & Ding, Cong & Yue, Wei & Liu, Guanchun, 2023. "ESG performance and corporate risk-taking: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:69:y:2025:i:c:s1566014125001086. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620356 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.