IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v46y2022i3p539-577.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Review of Conflict and Cohesion in Social Relationships in Family Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Cristina Bettinelli
  • Marco Mismetti
  • Alfredo De Massis
  • Barbara Del Bosco

Abstract

The literature on conflict and cohesion in social relationships in family firms has developed rapidly in recent decades. To take stock and provide directions to move this flourishing research area forward, we conduct a systematic review of the literature. We examine the prevailing conceptualizations of conflict and cohesion in social relationships in family firms, depict their drivers and outcomes, highlight their theoretical and empirical underpinnings, and propose an ontological framework to synthesize this large body of research. Drawing on our review, we identify some important research gaps and suggest fruitful directions for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristina Bettinelli & Marco Mismetti & Alfredo De Massis & Barbara Del Bosco, 2022. "A Review of Conflict and Cohesion in Social Relationships in Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 539-577, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:46:y:2022:i:3:p:539-577
    DOI: 10.1177/10422587211000339
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10422587211000339
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/10422587211000339?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. Michael Lubatkin & William S. Schulze & N Dino Richard, 2003. "Exploring the agency consequences of ownership dispersion among the directors of private family firms," Post-Print hal-02311676, HAL.
    2. Sharma, Pramodita & Sharma, Sanjay, 2011. "Drivers of Proactive Environmental Strategy in Family Firms," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(2), pages 309-334, April.
    3. Carmelo Cennamo & Pascual Berrone & Cristina Cruz & Luis R. Gomez–Mejia, 2012. "Socioemotional Wealth and Proactive Stakeholder Engagement: Why Family–Controlled Firms Care More about their Stakeholders," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(6), pages 1153-1173, November.
    4. Kellermanns, Franz W. & Eddleston, Kimberly A., 2007. "A family perspective on when conflict benefits family firm performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(10), pages 1048-1057, October.
    5. M. Ruiz Jiménez & Manuel Vallejo Martos & Rocío Martínez Jiménez, 2015. "Organisational Harmony as a Value in Family Businesses and Its Influence on Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 259-272, January.
    6. Jess H. Chua & James J. Chrisman & Alfredo De Massis, 2015. "A Closer Look at Socioemotional Wealth: Its Flows, Stocks, and Prospects for Moving Forward," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(2), pages 173-182, March.
    7. Michael D. Ensley & Allison W. Pearson, 2005. "An Exploratory Comparison of the Behavioral Dynamics of Top Management Teams in Family and Nonfamily New Ventures: Cohesion, Conflict, Potency, and Consensus," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(3), pages 267-284, May.
    8. Sarah Fitz-Koch & Mattias Nordqvist & Sara Carter & Erik Hunter, 2018. "Entrepreneurship in the Agricultural Sector: A Literature Review and Future Research Opportunities," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(1), pages 129-166, January.
    9. Jean‐Luc Arregle & Michael A. Hitt & David G. Sirmon & Philippe Very, 2007. "The Development of Organizational Social Capital: Attributes of Family Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 73-95, January.
    10. Jon C. Carr & Michael S. Cole & J. Kirk Ring & Daniela P. Blettner, 2011. "A Measure of Variations in Internal Social Capital among Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(6), pages 1207-1227, November.
    11. Franz W. Kellermanns & Kimberly A. Eddleston, 2004. "Feuding Families: When Conflict Does a Family Firm Good," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 28(3), pages 209-228, May.
    12. Francesco Chirico & Carlo Salvato, 2016. "Knowledge Internalization and Product Development in Family Firms: When Relational and Affective Factors Matter," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(1), pages 201-229, January.
    13. Michael Lubatkin & William S. Schulze & Richard N. Dino, 2003. "Exploring the agency consequences of ownership dispersion among the directors of private family firms," Post-Print hal-02276698, HAL.
    14. Jean-Luc Arrègle & Michael Hitt & David Sirmon & Philippe Véry, 2007. "The Development of Organizational Social Capital : Attributes of Family Firms," Post-Print hal-02312687, HAL.
    15. James J. Chrisman & Pramodita Sharma & Lloyd P. Steier & Jess H. Chua, 2013. "The Influence of Family Goals, Governance, and Resources on Firm Outcomes," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(6), pages 1249-1261, November.
    16. Richard F. J. Haans & Constant Pieters & Zi-Lin He, 2016. "Thinking about U: Theorizing and testing U- and inverted U-shaped relationships in strategy research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1177-1195, July.
    17. Alain Verbeke & Liena Kano, 2012. "The Transaction Cost Economics Theory of the Family Firm: Family–Based Human Asset Specificity and the Bifurcation Bias," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(6), pages 1183-1205, November.
    18. Agostino Vollero & Alfonso Siano & Maddalena Della Volpe, 2019. "A Systems Perspective for Conceptualizing Sustainability in Long‐lived Family Businesses. Research Proposals on Risk Taking and Innovativeness," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 111-127, February.
    19. Matthias Filser & Alfredo de Massis & Johanna Gast & Sascha Kraus & Thomas Niemand, 2018. "Tracing the Roots of Innovativeness in Family SMEs," Post-Print hal-02057212, HAL.
    20. Jayantilal, Shital & Jorge, Sílvia Ferreira & Palacios, Tomás M. Bañegil, 2016. "Effects of sibling competition on family firm succession: A game theory approach," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 260-268.
    21. Manuel Carlos Vallejo-Martos, 2011. "The organizational culture of family firms as a key factor of competitiveness," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 451-481, May.
    22. Corinne Post & Riikka Sarala & Caroline Gatrell & John E. Prescott, 2020. "Advancing Theory with Review Articles," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(2), pages 351-376, March.
    23. Arzubiaga, Unai & Kotlar, Josip & De Massis, Alfredo & Maseda, Amaia & Iturralde, Txomin, 2018. "Entrepreneurial orientation and innovation in family SMEs: Unveiling the (actual) impact of the Board of Directors," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 455-469.
    24. Goergen, Marc & Limbach, Peter & Scholz, Meik, 2015. "Mind the gap: The age dissimilarity between the chair and the CEO," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 136-158.
    25. Jones, Marian V. & Coviello, Nicole & Tang, Yee Kwan, 2011. "International Entrepreneurship research (1989–2009): A domain ontology and thematic analysis," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 632-659.
    26. Jean-Luc Arrègle & Lucia Naldi & Mattias Nordqvist & Michael Hitt, 2012. "Internationalization of Family-Controlled Firms : A Study of the Effects of External Involvement in Governance," Post-Print hal-02312678, HAL.
    27. Peter Jaskiewicz & Katharina Heinrichs & Sabine B. Rau & Trish Reay, 2016. "To Be or Not to Be: How Family Firms Manage Family and Commercial Logics in Succession," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(4), pages 781-813, July.
    28. Levinthal, D.A. & Fichman, M., 1991. "Honeymoons and the Liability of Adolescence : A New Perspective on Duration Dependence in Social Organizational Relationships," GSIA Working Papers 1991-34, Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business.
    29. Matthias Filser & Sascha Kraus & Stefan Märk, 2013. "Psychological aspects of succession in family business management," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(3), pages 256-277, March.
    30. Lloyd P. Steier & Jess H. Chua & James J. Chrisman, 2009. "Embeddedness Perspectives of Economic Action within Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(6), pages 1157-1167, November.
    31. Brenes, Esteban R. & Madrigal, Kryssia & Molina-Navarro, German E., 2006. "Family business structure and succession: Critical topics in Latin American experience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 372-374, March.
    32. Danny Miller & Jangwoo Lee & Sooduck Chang & Isabelle Le Breton-Miller, 2009. "Filling the institutional void: The social behavior and performance of family vs non-family technology firms in emerging markets," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(5), pages 802-817, June.
    33. Fabio Zona, 2016. "CEO leadership and board decision processes in family-controlled firms: comparing family and non-family CEOs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 735-753, October.
    34. Roland Kidwell & Franz Kellermanns & Kimberly Eddleston, 2012. "Harmony, Justice, Confusion, and Conflict in Family Firms: Implications for Ethical Climate and the “Fredo Effect”," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(4), pages 503-517, April.
    35. Zhong Qin & Xin Deng, 2016. "Government and family Guanxi in Chinese private firms: perceptions and preference," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 35-60, January.
    36. Collin, Sven-Olof Yrjö & Ahlberg, Jenny, 2012. "Blood in the boardroom: Family relationships influencing the functions of the board," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 207-219.
    37. Jess H. Chua & James J. Chrisman & Lloyd P. Steier & Sabine B. Rau, 2012. "Sources of Heterogeneity in Family Firms: An Introduction," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(6), pages 1103-1113, November.
    38. Morgan, Timothy J. & Gomez-Mejia, Luis R., 2014. "Hooked on a feeling: The affective component of socioemotional wealth in family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 280-288.
    39. Chua, Jess H. & Chrisman, James J. & De Massis, Alfredo & Wang, Hao, 2018. "Reflections on family firm goals and the assessment of performance," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 107-113.
    40. Marshall, James P. & Sorenson, Ritch & Brigham, Keith & Wieling, Elizabeth & Reifman, Alan & Wampler, Richard S., 2006. "The paradox for the family firm CEO: Owner age relationship to succession-related processes and plans," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 348-368, May.
    41. Ensley, Michael D. & Pearson, Allison W. & Amason, Allen C., 2002. "Understanding the dynamics of new venture top management teams: cohesion, conflict, and new venture performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 365-386, July.
    42. Shaker Zahra, 2012. "Organizational learning and entrepreneurship in family firms: exploring the moderating effect of ownership and cohesion," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 51-65, January.
    43. Eddleston, Kimberly A. & Kellermanns, Franz W., 2007. "Destructive and productive family relationships: A stewardship theory perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 545-565, July.
    44. Herrero, Inés & Hughes, Mathew, 2019. "When family social capital is too much of a good thing," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 1-1.
    45. James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Isabelle Le Breton-Miller & Danny Miller & Lloyd P. Steier, 2018. "Governance Mechanisms and Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(2), pages 171-186, March.
    46. Thomas M. Zellweger & James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Lloyd P. Steier, 2019. "Social Structures, Social Relationships, and Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(2), pages 207-223, March.
    47. Leon Schjoedt & Erik Monsen & Allison Pearson & Tim Barnett & James J. Chrisman, 2013. "New Venture and Family Business Teams: Understanding Team Formation, Composition, Behaviors, and Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(1), pages 1-15, January.
    48. Kudlats, Jerry & McDowell, William C. & Mahto, Raj V., 2019. "Unrelated but together: Trust and intergroup relations in multi-family businesses," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 750-756.
    49. Fernando Muñoz-Bullón & Maria J. Sanchez-Bueno & Alfredo De Massis, 2020. "Combining Internal and External R&D: The Effects on Innovation Performance in Family and Nonfamily Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(5), pages 996-1031, September.
    50. Long, Rebecca G. & Mathews, K. Michael, 2011. "Ethics in the Family Firm: Cohesion through Reciprocity and Exchange," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(2), pages 287-308, April.
    51. Morris, Michael H. & Williams, Roy O. & Allen, Jeffrey A. & Avila, Ramon A., 1997. "Correlates of success in family business transitions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 385-401, September.
    52. Athanassiou, Nicholas & Crittenden, William F. & Kelly, Louise M. & Marquez, Pedro, 2002. "Founder centrality effects on the Mexican family firm's top management group: firm culture, strategic vision and goals, and firm performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 139-150, July.
    53. Salvatore Sciascia & Pietro Mazzola & Francesco Chirico, 2013. "Generational Involvement in the Top Management Team of Family Firms: Exploring Nonlinear Effects on Entrepreneurial Orientation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(1), pages 69-85, January.
    54. Alfredo M. Bobillo & Juan A. Rodríguez-Sanz & Fernando Tejerina-Gaite, 2013. "Shareholder activism and internationalization in the family firm," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(5), pages 867-885, November.
    55. Allan Discua Cruz & Carole Howorth & Eleanor Hamilton, 2013. "Intrafamily Entrepreneurship: The Formation and Membership of Family Entrepreneurial Teams," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(1), pages 17-46, January.
    56. Samara, Georges & Jamali, Dima & Lapeira, Maria, 2019. "Why and how should SHE make her way into the family business boardroom?," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 105-115.
    57. Ensley, Michael D. & Pearson, Allison W. & Sardeshmukh, Shruti R, 2007. "The negative consequences of pay dispersion in family and non-family top management teams: an exploratory analysis of new venture, high-growth firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(10), pages 1039-1047, October.
    58. Cristina Aragón-Amonarriz & Agustín Mateo Arredondo & Cristina Iturrioz-Landart, 2019. "How Can Responsible Family Ownership be Sustained Across Generations? A Family Social Capital Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 161-185, September.
    59. Tim Barnett & Rebecca G. Long & Laura E. Marler, 2012. "Vision and Exchange in Intra–Family Succession: Effects on Procedural Justice Climate among Nonfamily Managers," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(6), pages 1207-1225, November.
    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. Mangiò, Federico & Mismetti, Marco & Lissana, Elena & Andreini, Daniela, 2023. "That's the Press, Baby! How journalists co-create family business brands meanings: A mixed method analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    2. Bettinelli, Cristina & Del Bosco, Barbara & Gentry, Richard J. & Dibrell, Clay, 2023. "The influence of board social activity on firm performance," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 14(2).
    3. Gottschalck, Nicole & Rolan, Lisa & Kellermanns, Franz W., 2023. "The continuance commitment of family firm CEOs," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 14(4).
    4. Sofia Brunelli & Salvatore Sciascia & Massimo Baù, 2024. "Nonfinancial reporting in family firms: A systematic review and agenda for future research," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 162-179, February.
    5. James J. Chrisman & Donald O. Neubaum & Friederike Welter & Karl Wennberg, 2022. "Knowledge Accumulation in Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 479-496, May.

    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. Kanadlı, Sadi Boĝaç & Torchia, Mariateresa & Gabaldon, Patricia & Calabrò, Andrea, 2020. "Effects of Task Conflict on Board Task Performance in Family Firms: The Importance of Board Openness," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(2).
    2. Ismael Barros-Contreras & Héctor Pérez-Fernández & Natalia Martín-Cruz & Juan Hernangómez B., 2023. "Can we make family social capital flourish? The moderating role of generational involvement," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 655-673, September.
    3. Pramodita Sharma & James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Lloyd P. Steier, 2020. "Family Firm Behavior From a Psychological Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(1), pages 3-19, January.
    4. Basco, Rodrigo, 2013. "The family's effect on family firm performance: A model testing the demographic and essence approaches," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 42-66.
    5. Pittino, Daniel & Chirico, Francesco & Baù, Massimo & Villasana, Marcia & Naranjo-Priego, Elvira E. & Barron, Elda, 2020. "Starting a family business as a career option: The role of the family household in Mexico," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(2).
    6. Andrea Calabrò & James J. Chrisman & Liena Kano, 2022. "Family-owned multinational enterprises in the post-pandemic global economy," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(5), pages 920-935, July.
    7. D’Allura, Giorgia Maria, 2019. "The leading role of the top management team in understanding family firms: Past research and future directions," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 87-104.
    8. Matthias Guffler & Alexandra Bertschi-Michel & Andreas Hack & Franz W. Kellermanns, 2023. "Family firm ambidexterity: the influence of paradoxical tensions and the Entrepreneurial Family’s cohesion," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(6), pages 1945-1977, December.
    9. Sondos G. Abdelgawad & Shaker A. Zahra, 2020. "Family Firms’ Religious Identity and Strategic Renewal," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 775-787, May.
    10. Andrea Calabrò & Mariateresa Torchia & Daniela Gimenez Jimenez & Sascha Kraus, 0. "The role of human capital on family firm innovativeness: the strategic leadership role of family board members," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-27.
    11. Barros, Ismael & Hernangómez, Juan & Martin-Cruz, Natalia, 2016. "A theoretical model of strategic management of family firms. A dynamic capabilities approach," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 149-159.
    12. Sanchez-Famoso, Valeriano & Pittino, Daniel & Chirico, Francesco & Maseda, Amaia & Iturralde, Txomin, 2019. "Social capital and innovation in family firms: The moderating roles of family control and generational involvement," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(3).
    13. Schell, Sabrina & de Groote, Julia K. & Moog, Petra & Hack, Andreas, 2020. "Successor selection in family business—A signaling game," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(3).
    14. 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.
    15. Pittino, Daniel & Visintin, Francesca & Lenger, Tamara & Sternad, Dietmar, 2016. "Are high performance work practices really necessary in family SMEs? An analysis of the impact on employee retention," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 75-89.
    16. Andrea Calabrò & Mariateresa Torchia & Daniela Gimenez Jimenez & Sascha Kraus, 2021. "The role of human capital on family firm innovativeness: the strategic leadership role of family board members," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 261-287, March.
    17. Chirico, Francesco & Duane Ireland, R. & Pittino, Daniel & Sanchez-Famoso, Valeriano, 2022. "Radical innovation in (multi)family owned firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(3).
    18. Ivan Miroshnychenko & Alfredo De Massis & Danny Miller & Roberto Barontini, 2021. "Family Business Growth Around the World," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(4), pages 682-708, July.
    19. Deferne, Marie & Bertschi-Michel, Alexandra & de Groote, Julia, 2023. "The role of trust in family business stakeholder relationships: A systematic literature review," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1).
    20. Debellis, Francesco & Rondi, Emanuela & Plakoyiannaki, Emmanuella & De Massis, Alfredo, 2021. "Riding the waves of family firm internationalization: A systematic literature review, integrative framework, and research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).

    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:46:y:2022:i:3:p:539-577. 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.