Perceptions of entrepreneurship across generations in family offices: A stewardship theory perspective

• We examine different generations’ perceptions of entrepreneurship in family offices.
• This qualitative study on family offices draws on stewardship theory.
• Each generation exhibits different perceptions of entrepreneurship concerning family offices.
• First generation perceives the family office as being more entrepreneurial than later generations.
• Subsequent leaders of the family office may become more conservative and not take entrepreneurial risk.

Family offices have been in existence for at least two centuries and have substantial impact on the wealth and prosperity of the families behind them. However, despite their practical relevance, family offices remain an under-researched topic in family business studies. Drawing upon stewardship theory, this qualitative study examines the perceptions of different generations (i.e., founder or first generation and second and/or later generations) about entrepreneurship in family offices and their new investments and, in turn, influence on growth and prosperity of their ventures. The results of interviews with two separate generations of family businesses who operate family offices show that each generation exhibits different perceptions of entrepreneurship concerning family offices that we integrate in a model of organizational entrepreneurship in family offices. Implications for future studies and practice are discussed.