IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v35y2011i6p1121-1148.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Must Love Kill the Family Firm? Some Exploratory Evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Vikas Mehrotra
  • Randall Morck
  • Jungwook Shim
  • Yupana Wiwattanakantang

Abstract

Family firms depend on a succession of capable heirs to stay afloat. If talent and IQ are inherited, this problem is mitigated. If, however, progeny talent and IQ display mean reversion (or worse), family firms are eventually doomed. Since family firms persist, solutions to this succession problem must exist. We submit that marriage can transfuse outside talent and reinvigorate family firms. This implies that changes to the institution of marriage—notably, a decline in arranged marriages in favor of marriages for “love†—bode ill for the survival of family firms. Consistent with this, the predominance of family firms correlates strongly across countries with plausible proxies for arranged marriage norms.

Suggested Citation

  • Vikas Mehrotra & Randall Morck & Jungwook Shim & Yupana Wiwattanakantang, 2011. "Must Love Kill the Family Firm? Some Exploratory Evidence," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(6), pages 1121-1148, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:35:y:2011:i:6:p:1121-1148
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00494.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00494.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00494.x?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Douglas Holtz-Eakin & David Joulfaian & Harvey S. Rosen, 1993. "The Carnegie Conjecture: Some Empirical Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(2), pages 413-435.
    2. Mehrotra, Vikas & Morck, Randall & Shim, Jungwook & Wiwattanakantang, Yupana, 2013. "Adoptive expectations: Rising sons in Japanese family firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 840-854.
    3. Barca, Fabrizio & Becht, Marco (ed.), 2001. "The Control of Corporate Europe," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199247424.
    4. Tarun Khanna & Jan W. Rivkin, 2001. "Estimating the performance effects of business groups in emerging markets," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 45-74, January.
    5. Chutatong Charumilind & Raja Kali & Yupana Wiwattanakantang, 2006. "Connected Lending: Thailand before the Financial Crisis," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(1), pages 181-218, January.
    6. Andrew Ellul & Marco Pagano & Fausto Panunzi, 2010. "Inheritance Law and Investment in Family Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2414-2450, December.
    7. Linghui Tang & Peter E Koveos, 2008. "A framework to update Hofstede's cultural value indices: economic dynamics and institutional stability," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(6), pages 1045-1063, September.
    8. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1.
    9. 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.
    10. Alberto Bisin & Thierry Verdier, 2000. ""Beyond the Melting Pot": Cultural Transmission, Marriage, and the Evolution of Ethnic and Religious Traits," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 955-988.
    11. Nicholas Bloom & John Van Reenen, 2007. "Measuring and Explaining Management Practices Across Firms and Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(4), pages 1351-1408.
    12. Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu, 1999. "Policy Shocks, Market Intermediaries, and Corporate Strategy: The Evolution of Business Groups in Chile and India," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(2), pages 271-310, June.
    13. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2009. "Cultural Biases in Economic Exchange?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(3), pages 1095-1131.
    14. Tarun Khanna & Yishay Yafeh, 2007. "Business Groups in Emerging Markets: Paragons or Parasites?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(2), pages 331-372, June.
    15. Marco Becht & Colin Mayer, 2002. "Corporate control in Europe," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 112(4), pages 471-498.
    16. Randall K. Morck, 2000. "Concentrated Corporate Ownership," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number morc00-1.
    17. Randall Morck & David Stangeland & Bernard Yeung, 2000. "Inherited Wealth, Corporate Control, and Economic Growth The Canadian Disease?," NBER Chapters, in: Concentrated Corporate Ownership, pages 319-372, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Randall Morck & Michael Percy & Gloria Tian & Bernard Yeung, 2005. "The Rise and Fall of the Widely Held Firm: A History of Corporate Ownership in Canada," NBER Chapters, in: A History of Corporate Governance around the World: Family Business Groups to Professional Managers, pages 65-148, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Faccio, Mara & Lang, Larry H. P., 2002. "The ultimate ownership of Western European corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 365-395, September.
    20. Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu, 2000. "Is Group Affiliation Profitable in Emerging Markets? An Analysis of Diversified Indian Business Groups," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(2), pages 867-891, April.
    21. Kathy Fogel, 2006. "Oligarchic family control, social economic outcomes, and the quality of government," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(5), pages 603-622, September.
    22. Marianne Bertrand & Antoinette Schoar, 2006. "The Role of Family in Family Firms," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 73-96, Spring.
    23. Mara Faccio, 2006. "Politically Connected Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 369-386, March.
    24. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:1301-1327 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Bertrand, Marianne & Johnson, Simon & Samphantharak, Krislert & Schoar, Antoinette, 2008. "Mixing family with business: A study of Thai business groups and the families behind them," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 466-498, June.
    26. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Lang, Larry H. P., 2000. "The separation of ownership and control in East Asian Corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 81-112.
    27. Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu, 2005. "The Evolution of Concentrated Ownership in India: Broad Patterns and a History of the Indian Software Industry," NBER Chapters, in: A History of Corporate Governance around the World: Family Business Groups to Professional Managers, pages 283-324, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Tarun Khanna & Yishay Yafeh, 2005. "Business Groups and Risk Sharing around the World," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(1), pages 301-340, January.
    29. Marco Becht & Fabrizio Barca, 2001. "The control of corporate Europe," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/13302, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    30. Miller, Danny & Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle & Lester, Richard H. & Cannella Jr., Albert A., 2007. "Are family firms really superior performers?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 829-858, December.
    31. repec:cai:poeine:pope_505_0505 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. MARA FACCIO & RONALD W. MASULIS & JOHN J. McCONNELL, 2006. "Political Connections and Corporate Bailouts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2597-2635, December.
    33. Supple, Barry E., 1957. "A Business Elite: German-Jewish Financiers in Nineteenth-Century New York," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(2), pages 143-178, July.
    34. 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.
    35. Morck, Randall K. (ed.), 2000. "Concentrated Corporate Ownership," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226536781.
    36. Raquel Fernández & Alessandra Fogli & Claudia Olivetti, 2004. "Mothers and Sons: Preference Formation and Female Labor Force Dynamics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(4), pages 1249-1299.
    37. Randall K. Morck, 2005. "A History of Corporate Governance around the World: Family Business Groups to Professional Managers," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number morc05-1.
    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. Luis Alfonso Dau & Randall Morck & Bernard Yin Yeung, 2021. "Business groups and the study of international business: A Coasean synthesis and extension," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(2), pages 161-211, March.
    2. Kaiyang Sun & Rumintha Wickramasekera & Alvin Tan, 2022. "Exploring the Relationship Between Family Involvement and Innovative Capability in Chinese Family SMEs: The Role of HR Redundancy," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    3. Joshua J. Daspit & Rebecca G. Long, 2014. "Mitigating Moral Hazard in Entrepreneurial Networks: Examining Structural and Relational Social Capital in East Africa," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(6), pages 1343-1350, November.
    4. Danny Miller & Isabelle Le Breton–Miller, 2014. "Deconstructing Socioemotional Wealth," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(4), pages 713-720, July.
    5. Mehrotra, Vikas & Morck, Randall & Shim, Jungwook & Wiwattanakantang, Yupana, 2013. "Adoptive expectations: Rising sons in Japanese family firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 840-854.
    6. Michael Carney & Eric Gedajlovic & Vanessa M. Strike, 2014. "Dead Money: Inheritance Law and the Longevity of Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(6), pages 1261-1283, November.
    7. Bruno Noisette, 2024. "To Whom Do Business Owner-Managers Feel Responsible? Weighting conflicting social responsibilities in Rwanda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(3), pages 531-552, March.
    8. Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle & Miller, Danny & Bares, Franck, 2015. "Governance and entrepreneurship in family firms: Agency, behavioral agency and resource-based comparisons," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 58-62.
    9. Hu, Min & Dou, Junsheng & You, Xialei, 2023. "Is organizational ambidexterity always beneficial to family-managed SMEs? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    10. M. Carmen Díaz-Fernández & M. Rosario González-Rodríguez & Marek Pawlak & Biagio Simonetti, 2019. "Family firm’s management composition: the role played by family members’ age in TMT and supervisor levels," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(5), pages 2421-2438, September.
    11. Fernando A. Martín-Hidalgo & Ines Herrero & Ana Pérez-Luño, 2024. "The Lights and Shadows of Family Involvement in Small and Medium-Sized Firms," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 4137-4160, March.
    12. James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Lloyd P. Steier, 2011. "Resilience of Family Firms: An Introduction," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(6), pages 1107-1119, November.
    13. Joseph Lampel & Ajay Bhalla & Kavil Ramachandran, 2017. "Family values and inter-institutional governance of strategic decision making in Indian family firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 901-930, December.
    14. 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.
    15. Conz, Elisa & Lamb, Peter William & De Massis, Alfredo, 2020. "Practicing resilience in family firms: An investigation through phenomenography," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(2).
    16. Tang, Junhua & Osmer, Eric & Zheng, Yao, 2022. "Do married couples make better family firm leaders: Evidence from China," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    17. Raj V. Mahto & Jiun-Shiu Chen & William C. McDowell & Saurabh Ahluwalia, 2019. "Shared Identity, Family Influence, and the Transgenerational Intentions in Family Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-15, February.
    18. Ciji Song & Yi Yang & Zengji Song, 2024. "The impact of entrepreneurs’ wives participating in corporate management on company risk-taking," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    19. King, Roger & Peng, Winnie Qian, 2013. "The effect of industry characteristics on the control longevity of founding-family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 281-295.

    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. Vikas Mehrotra & Randall Morck & Jungwook Shim & Yupana Wiwattanakantang, 2010. "Must Love Kill the Family Firm?," NBER Working Papers 16340, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Morck, Randall & Deniz Yavuz, M. & Yeung, Bernard, 2011. "Banking system control, capital allocation, and economy performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(2), pages 264-283, May.
    3. Randall Morck, 2011. "Finance and Governance in Developing Economies," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 375-406, December.
    4. Randall Morck, 2009. "The Riddle of the Great Pyramids," NBER Working Papers 14858, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Luis Alfonso Dau & Randall Morck & Bernard Yin Yeung, 2021. "Business groups and the study of international business: A Coasean synthesis and extension," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(2), pages 161-211, March.
    6. Heitor Almeida & Sang Yong Park & Marti Subrahmanyam & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2009. "The Structure and Formation of Business Groups: Evidence from Korean Chaebols," NBER Working Papers 14983, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Mehrotra, Vikas & Morck, Randall & Shim, Jungwook & Wiwattanakantang, Yupana, 2013. "Adoptive expectations: Rising sons in Japanese family firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 840-854.
    8. Tarun Khanna & Yishay Yafeh, 2007. "Business Groups in Emerging Markets: Paragons or Parasites?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(2), pages 331-372, June.
    9. William Mullins & Antoinette Schoar, 2013. "How do CEOs see their Role? Management Philosophy and Styles in Family and Non-Family Firms," NBER Working Papers 19395, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Almeida, Heitor & Park, Sang Yong & Subrahmanyam, Marti G. & Wolfenzon, Daniel, 2011. "The structure and formation of business groups: Evidence from Korean chaebols," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 447-475, February.
    11. Caprio, Lorenzo & Croci, Ettore & Del Giudice, Alfonso, 2011. "Ownership structure, family control, and acquisition decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 1636-1657.
    12. Bennedsen, Morten & Fan, Joseph P.H. & Jian, Ming & Yeh, Yin-Hua, 2015. "The family business map: Framework, selective survey, and evidence from Chinese family firm succession," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 212-226.
    13. Yafeh, Yishay & Kandel, Eugene & ,, 2013. "The Great Pyramids of America: A Revised History of US Business Groups, Corporate Ownership and Regulation, 1930-1950," CEPR Discussion Papers 9759, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    14. Suveera Gill & Parmjit Kaur, 2015. "Family Involvement in Business and Financial Performance: A Panel Data Analysis," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 40(4), pages 395-420, December.
    15. Christopher Hansen & Joern Block & Matthias Neuenkirch, 2020. "Family Firm Performance Over The Business Cycle: A Meta‐Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 476-511, July.
    16. Yeh, Yin-Hua, 2019. "Corporate governance and family succession: New evidence from Taiwan," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    17. Bodnaruk, Andriy & Massa, Massimo & Yadav, Vijay, 2017. "Family ownership, country governance, and foreign portfolio investment," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 96-115.
    18. Connelly, J. Thomas, 2016. "Investment policy at family firms: Evidence from Thailand," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 91-122.
    19. Jenifer Piesse & Roger Strange & Fahad Toonsi, 2012. "Is there a distinctive MENA model of corporate governance?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(4), pages 645-681, November.
    20. Chi, Yung-Ling, 2023. "The agency costs of family ownership: Evidence from innovation performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).

    More about this item

    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:sae:entthe:v:35:y:2011:i:6:p:1121-1148. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.