Family influences on firms: An introduction

Starting with a historical review of the developments in family business studies, the articles in this special issue emphasize the differential influences of family on the managerial behaviors and financial performance of family firms. This introduction explains why such investigations are important for the development of a theory of the family firm, provides a brief review of the contents and contributions of the articles, and concludes with a call for additional research on how and why families influence managerial behaviors and firm performance.