strategic management and corporate governance

Boards of Directors in Family Firms: A Review of the Literature

Andrea Sangermano, Cristina Bettinelli, Angelo Miglietta

The Board of Directors (BoD) is considered as a potentially key element affecting family firm competitiveness in terms of performance (Anderson and Reeb, 2004), and entrepreneurial behaviors (e.g., Corbetta and Salvato, 2004; Zahra, 1996). Among the positive aspects of having and using a BoD in family firms, the literature identifies the fact that the BoD can help family firms increasing their management experience and improving their ability to access critical external resources (Hillman and Dalziel, 2003; Forbes and Milliken, 1999; Voordeckers et al., 2007 ). Since 1988, when Family Business Review dedicated an entire issue to the topic, the literature on family business boards has flourished. BoD in family firms have been the subject of extensive debate (e.g., Anderson and Reeb, 2004; Bammens et al., 2011; Corbetta and Salvato, 2004; Arzubiaga et al., 2018; Uhlaner et al. 2020) with large publicly listed firms having captured more attention compared to small and medium sized firms (Bammens et al., 2011).

#boards of directors #directors; bibliometric analysis #family firms #literature review