Title
Prof. Dr.
Last Name
Zellweger
First name
Thomas
Email
thomas.zellweger@unisg.ch
ORCID
Phone
+41 71 224 71 00
Google Scholar
1 - 9 of 9
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PublicationMake it or break it? Founder social identity, EO, and new ventures' financial performance( 2022-08)
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PublicationMeasuring the Social Identity of Entrepreneurs: Scale Development and International Validation(Academy of Management, 2015-08-07)
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PublicationSocioemotional Wealth, Ambidexterity, and Family Firm Performance: An Empirical StudyWhile family business literature agrees that family firms are driven by both non-economic and financial motives, it is unclear how the prioritization of socioemotional wealth (SEW) over financial considerations affects family firms' financial performance. Based on a sample of 343 family firm owners from German-speaking Europe, this study reveals a significant and positive relationship between the firm owners' SEW considerations and their family businesses' financial performance. This relationship, in turn, is found to be mediated by organizational ambidexterity. A fine-grained analysis of the different SEW dimensions indicates that this pattern may be driven by two elements of socioemotional wealth only (family members' identification with the firm and emotional attachment). Our findings demonstrate that business families do not necessarily face a trade-off when prioritizing the preservation of their SEW over stabilizing or improving the financial performance of their business. The study enriches several streams of literature and opens up numerous avenues for future research.
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PublicationSuccession Intentions Across the Globe: The Role of Institutional FactorsWhile succession intentions have received increasing scholarly attention in recent years, there is a lack of knowledge about country-level antecedents and differences. Our paper aims to close this gap by investigating succession intentions of 6,360 students with family business background from 26 countries. More specifically, we blend theory of planned behavior with institutional theory and find that institutional variables such as individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and the level of corruption explain the formation of succession intentions over and above traditional theory of planned behavior elements. In addition, we reveal a U-shaped relationship between a nation's level of economic development and the strength of succession intentions. This indicates the existence of two types of succession intentions: necessity and opportunity succession. These findings add valuable insights to literature on family businesses, succession, theory of planned behavior, and practice.
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PublicationIntergenerational Transfer of Family Firm Control: Discount Expectations of Potential SuccessorsBuilding on institutional theory and family sociology literature we explore the logics that underlie the formation of transaction price expectations related to the intergenerational transfer of corporate ownership in private family firms. By probing a sample of 3'487 students with family business background from 20 countries we show that next generation family members expect to receive a 56.58% discount in comparison to some nonfamily buyer (i.e. the family discount) when taking over the parent's firm. We also show that the logic underlying the formation of family discount expectations is characterized by parental altruism, filial reciprocity, filial decency and parental inducement. These norms embrace both the family and market logics and accommodate the duties and demands of children and parents in determining a fair transfer price. These findings are important for institutional theory as well as for family business and entrepreneurial exit literatures.
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PublicationToward an Institutional Extension of Theory of Planned Behavior : The Case of Succession IntentionsThe present paper blends theory of planned behavior with institutional theory to predict career choice intentions of students with family business background. Probing a sample of 6’360 students with family business background from 26 countries we find that institutional variables such as individualistic culture, uncertainty avoidance, and the level of corruption explain the formation of succession intentions over and above traditional theory of planned behavior measures. In addition, we identify a U-shaped relationship between a nation’s level of economic development and the strength of succession intentions, indicating the existence of two types of succession motives, necessity and opportunity succession. These findings constitute valuable contributions to literature on theory of planned behavior, succession in family firms, and practice.
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PublicationThe Impact of Relationship Conflict on subjective Family Firm ValuationThe present paper empirically investigates the impact of family relationship conflict on subjective firm valuation by family firm owner managers. Drawing on the emerging socioemotional wealth perspective of corporate ownership, we find a U-shaped relationship between relationship conflict inside the family firm and subjective family firm valuation. This finding suggests that negatively valenced emotions induced by the conflict, at low levels of conflict, lead to emotion congruent withdrawal behavior and hence lower valuation. With conflicts gaining in fervor and severity, owner-managers start endowing and pricing sunk costs related to the conflict. This finding suggests that emotions do indeed have spill-over effects on monetary value perceptions and that negatively valenced emotions induced by relationship conflict are not linearly appraised. Rather, to understand the impact of negative emotions on corporate ownership appraisal and attachment it is required to reconcile the emotion congruency with the prospect theory perspective.
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PublicationFamily Portfolio Entrepreneurship(Babson College, 2009-06-01)
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PublicationHow much and what kind of entrepreneurial orientation is needed for family business continuity?(International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA), 2008-07-02)