When Do Second-Generation Returnees Affect Family Firms’ Entrepreneurial Risk-Taking? The Moderating Role of Managerial Discretion

We posit that the dual identities of second-generation returnees present a complex situation regarding their influence on family firms’ entrepreneurial risk-taking (ERT). On one hand, their status as returnees may have a positive effect on firms’ ERT. On the other hand, their potential successor role may limit their ability to exert influence on ERT due to constraints imposed by the first generation, the firm and the home environment. To unravel the puzzling relationship between second-generation returnees and a family firm’s ERT, we examine conditions under which second-generation returnees promote or inhibit a firm’s ERT. In order to frame these conditions, we draw upon the upper echelon theory and the concept of managerial discretion. Our study of 270 family firms in China reveals that second-generation returnees holding higher managerial positions, operating in high-growing markets, or in institutionally underdeveloped regions are empowered to have a stronger positive impact on a family firm’s ERT. This research contributes to our knowledge of generational involvement, returnee executives, and the upper echelon theory.