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Impact of informal institutions on the prevalence, strategy, and performance of family firms: A meta-analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Pascual Berrone

    (IESE Business School (Spain, Barcelona) - IESE)

  • Luis Gómez-Mejía

    (ASU - Arizona State University [Tempe])

  • Patricio Duran

    (SLU - Saint Louis University)

  • Pursey P M a R Heugens

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands, Rotterdam) - EUR)

  • Tatiana Kostova

    (University of South Carolina [Columbia])

  • Marc van Essen

    (University of South Carolina [Columbia])

Abstract

Family-controlled firms (FCFs)' prevalence, strategies, and performance differ across countries. We explain these differences through the lens of informal institutions, suggesting that different countries have different levels of appreciation for family business. To capture this effect, we introduce the construct of family business legitimacy (FBL) and an associated index (FBLI). We empirically measure FBLI scores for 83 countries spanning both developed and emerging economies. By combining meta-analytic and archival data, we show that FCFs prevail, follow unique strategies, and outperform non-FCFs in countries with high FBLI scores. As a new contingency variable, FBL advances the literature on the informal institutional embeddedness of organizations and family business.

Suggested Citation

  • Pascual Berrone & Luis Gómez-Mejía & Patricio Duran & Pursey P M a R Heugens & Tatiana Kostova & Marc van Essen, 2022. "Impact of informal institutions on the prevalence, strategy, and performance of family firms: A meta-analysis," Post-Print hal-05656776, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05656776
    DOI: 10.1057/s41267-020-00362-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Patricio Duran & Marcelo Ortiz & Michael Carney, 2024. "More than Money: Political Participation by Elite Business Families," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 48(6), pages 1495-1524, November.
    2. Fuentes-Lombardo, Guadalupe & Sanchez-Famoso, Valeriano & Cano-Rubio, Myriam, 2023. "Reasons for internationalisation of family business," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 14(4).
    3. Llanos-Contreras, Orlando & Alonso-Dos-Santos, Manuel & Welsh, Dianne H.B., 2024. "Graduating college students apply here: Communicating family firm ownership and firm size," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 15(1).
    4. Wu, Sihong & Huang, Xinli & Fan, Di & Su, Yiyi, 2026. "Home-country imprinting and the international experience–growth relationship: A meta-analysis," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(2).
    5. Amore, Mario Daniele & D’Angelo, Valentino & Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle & Miller, Danny & Pelucco, Valerio & Van Essen, Marc, 2024. "Using machine learning to identify and measure the family influence on companies," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 15(4).
    6. Davila, Jessenia & Duran, Patricio & Gómez-Mejía, Luis & Sanchez-Bueno, Maria J., 2023. "Socioemotional wealth and family firm performance: A meta-analytic integration," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 14(2).
    7. Maquieira, Carlos P. & Llanos-Contreras, Orlando & Arias, Jose, 2025. "Family-firms cash holdings determinants: Empirical evidence for Chile," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Luis R. Gómez-Mejía & Fernando Muñoz-Bullón & Ignacio Requejo & Maria J. Sanchez-Bueno, 2025. "Ethical Correlates of Family Control: Socioemotional Wealth, Environmental Performance, and Financial Returns," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 198(4), pages 893-917, May.
    9. Li Cai & Xin Gao & Yan Ling & Franz W. Kellermanns, 2023. "Governments’ new policy frequency and firms’ performance in an emerging industry: the difference between family and non-family firms," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1707-1737, December.
    10. Daniela Scur & Sarah Wolfolds, 2024. "Revisiting the World Management Survey in Strategy: Applications to Theory and Replication," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(1), pages 58-78, March.
    11. Sanchez-Famoso, Valeriano & Cruz, Cristina & Batterjee, Mohamed Mazen & Mejia-Morelos, Jorge-Humberto & Cisneros, Luis & Tuyen LE, Nhu, 2025. "Socioemotional wealth (SEW) across borders: Integrating national context into SEW research," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 16(1).
    12. Meng, Shuang & Gomez-Mejia, Luis R. & Yi, Jingtao, 2024. "Political embeddedness, socioemotional wealth, and R&D investment in family firms: Evidence from China as a transition economy," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 15(3).
    13. Su, Hengyi & Huang, Jianbo & Chen, Lingyun, 2026. "Merchant guild culture and strategic choices: a subnational perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    14. Guerrero Calle, Maria Bernarda & Bollen, Katalien & Sucozhañay, Dolores & Euwema, Martin, 2024. "The impact of managers' personality on task and relationship conflict: The moderating role of family and non-family business status," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 15(3).
    15. Gomez-Mejia, Luis R. & Mendoza-Lopez, Anabel & Cruz, Cristina & Duran, Patricio & Aguinis, Herman, 2024. "Socioemotional wealth in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous contexts: The case of family firms in Latin America and the Caribbean," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 15(1).
    16. Susana Álvarez‐Díez & J. Samuel Baixauli‐Soler & María Belda‐Ruiz & Gregorio Sánchez‐Marín, 2023. "Variable selection for classification and forecasting of the family firm's socioemotional wealth," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(8), pages 2063-2078, December.
    17. Ilaria Gallegati & Antonio Majocchi & Florian B. Zapkau, 2026. "Family Governance and Home Country’s Family Collectivism in Internationalization: A Meta-Analysis of Family Firm Heterogeneity," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 50(4), pages 1118-1150, July.
    18. Pan, Xin & Chen, Xuanjin & Wang, Hao, 2024. "Beyond economic considerations: The role of socioemotional wealth in family firm foreign exit decisions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(4).
    19. Michele Pinelli & Francesco Chirico & Alfredo De Massis & Alessandro Zattoni, 2024. "Acquisition Relatedness in Family Firms: Do the Environment and the Institutional Context Matter?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 1562-1589, June.
    20. Mario Daniele Amore & Danny Miller, 2025. "The role of culture in family firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 261-278, February.
    21. Luis R. Gómez‐Mejía & Maria J. Sanchez‐Bueno & Ivan Miroshnychenko & Robert M. Wiseman & Fernando Muñoz‐Bullón & Alfredo De Massis, 2024. "Family Control, Political Risk and Employment Security: A Cross‐National Study," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(6), pages 2338-2372, September.
    22. Yaowu, Yang & Qidong, Cheng & Yang, Liu, 2025. "Board structure and corporate strategic aggressiveness - an examination based on the double machine learning method," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    23. Innan Sasaki & Gerardo Patriotta & Michael Lounsbury, 2026. "Cultural Entrepreneurship and the Spirit of Japanese Capitalism," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 50(3), pages 889-930, May.
    24. Jae C. Jung & Junyon Im, 2023. "How does social trust affect corporate financial performance? The mediating role of corporate social responsibility," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 236-255, January.

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