Family firms represent a significant and distinct organizational context that shapes how people behave, interact, and perform within organizations. Despite their prevalence globally and their substantial economic impact, family firms remain understudied in organizational behavior research. The unique characteristics of family firms—including family involvement in ownership and management, overlapping family and business systems, long-term orientations, and preservation of family legacy—create a distinctive context that influences organizational behavior processes in ways that differ fundamentally from non-family firms.
This special issue seeks to advance our understanding of how family firm contexts shape organizational behavior. We invite empirical and theoretical contributions that examine organizational behavior processes—including but not limited to motivation, leadership, organizational culture, change management, conflict resolution, team dynamics, organizational learning, and employee well-being—within family firm settings. We are particularly interested in research that illuminates the mechanisms through which family dynamics, governance structures, ownership arrangements, and family values influence these organizational behavior processes.
We welcome quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies that provide novel insights into organizational behavior in family firms. Submissions may focus on family firms of any size or industry, and may examine intra-organizational dynamics as well as family firm interactions with external stakeholders. We are especially interested in research that addresses underexplored questions, applies novel theoretical perspectives, or challenges conventional wisdom about family firms and organizational behavior.