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Social capital and family control

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  • Amore, Mario Daniele

Abstract

I empirically investigate the effect of social capital on family control in a comprehensive data set from Italy. Exploiting historically-driven variations in social capital provided by the experience of self-government during the Middle Ages, I find that when social capital is weak, family control and management of companies are more prevalent. These results provide novel evidence on the pervasive influence of culture on organizational structures.

Suggested Citation

  • Amore, Mario Daniele, 2017. "Social capital and family control," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 106-114.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:exehis:v:65:y:2017:i:c:p:106-114
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2016.06.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Amore, Mario Daniele & Miller, Danny & Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle & Corbetta, Guido, 2017. "For love and money: Marital leadership in family firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 461-476.
    2. Mario Daniele Amore & Danny Miller, 2025. "The role of culture in family firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 261-278, February.
    3. Ikenna Uzuegbunam, 2026. "The individualism paradox: how individualistic cultures foster outside ownership in social startups," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 109-133, January.
    4. Miller, Danny & Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle & Amore, Mario Daniele & Minichilli, Alessandro & Corbetta, Guido, 2017. "Institutional logics, family firm governance and performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 674-693.
    5. Chenchen Fan & Mingming Jiang & Bo Zhang, 2024. "Beyond cultural norms: how does historical rice farming affect modern firms' family control?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 91(363), pages 770-808, July.
    6. Xie, Jian & Yuan, Song, 2025. "The cultural origins of family firms," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 1-24.
    7. Amore, Mario Daniele & Epure, Mircea, 2021. "Riding out of a financial crisis: The joint effect of trust and corporate ownership," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 92-109.
    8. Amore, Mario Daniele & Pelucco, Valerio & Quarato, Fabio, 2022. "Family ownership during the Covid-19 pandemic," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    9. 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).
    10. Ciji Song & Yi Yang & Zengji Song, 2024. "The impact of entrepreneurs’ wives participating in corporate management on company risk-taking," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    11. Tan, Weiqiang & Xie, Weimin & Zhang, Hengxin, 2026. "Social trust and management appointment in family firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

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