Governance as a Source of Family Firm Heterogeneity

Heterogeneity among family firms has become an important research topic. This special issue of Journal of Business Research contributes to the literature on family firm heterogeneity by specifically focusing on variations in governance. In this introductory article, we suggest that governance-particularly family involvement in firm ownership and management, and decisions concerning human resource practices-is a primary source of family firm heterogeneity. Dimensions of family firm governance are discussed, and four empirical studies are featured that focus on how governance influences the international entry, knowledge sharing, financial performance, and human capital of the family firm. We extend the contributions of these studies by exploring research opportunities related to heterogeneity in family firm goals, governance, and resources.