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Reflections on Family Business Research: Considering Domains and Theory

Most scholars devoted to the study of organizations are familiar with the classic questions regarding the reasons for the existence, variation, and perpetuation of organizations. In family business research, our central questions align closely with those of the classic organization theory domain: Why do family businesses exist? How do family businesses change and survive? How and why do family businesses differ from other businesses and each other? As such, and in relation to these central questions, there are many theories that attempt to explain and predict the behaviors of family businesses and the people within them. And, just as there is no “the” theory of organizations, there is no “the” theory of family businesses. Rather, there are many relevant and useful theories and perspectives that have been developed and utilized to explore these important key questions. Furthermore, the number and variety of these theories and perspectives are growing as we dig deeper into the idiosyncrasies of family businesses. Along with a general broadening of the scale and scope of the family business domain (Evert, Martin, McLeod, & Payne, 2016; Holt, Pearson, Payne, & Sharma, 2018), there appears to be increasing consideration given to the boundaries of the field and its direction of development. Much of the challenge here is because the family business literature, although historically tied to entrepreneurship due to its roots in small business, is not built on a singular discipline. It instead represents a large set of interrelated subfields that are bound together by the recognition that families, as owners and operators, can have a unique influence on a wide variety of business activities and outcomes (Sharma, Chrisman, & Gersick, 2012; Yu, Lumpkin, Sorenson, & Brigham, 2012). Indeed, what we know or think we know about family businesses is held in such a wide variety of perspectives, emanates from so many different backgrounds, and is disseminated through such a sundry of unique outlets, that it is often difficult for people to identify and understand the distinguishing nature of the field. This difficulty is particularly problematic if family business scholars fail to clearly articulate which constructs and phenomena are within its boundaries and develop unique theories that explain them. For, like any field of study, the challenge of gaining and maintaining legitimacy involves addressing and balancing breadth (i.e., crossing disciplinary boundaries) and depth (i.e., mastering a specific body of knowledge) of understanding. It is on these broad considerations regarding the scale and scope of the domain that the current issue of Family Business Review (FBR) was founded. Generally, my musings regarding the direction and legitimacy of the family business field led me to consider the content and focus of this issue of FBR—the first under my full supervision as Editor—and the orthodox need to address the past to better establish a path forward. So, I invited scholars of five seminal FBR articles that have shaped the boundaries and content of the domain over the last decade—published more than 10 years ago, but since 2000—to reflect on the meaning and implications of their work. What has emerged is an interesting and informative set of articles, written by the original authors, that both consider the past and the future regarding their respective articles, topics, and the field of family business more generally. Additionally, the Associate Editors of FBR provide commentaries on the original articles to bring you quickly up to date regarding their content and impact since publication. The articles included in this issue, offered in chronological order of the original article, are the following: 776550 FBRXXX10.1177/0894486518776550Family Business ReviewPayne editorial2018