Stuck in the Middle : Socioemotional Wealth, Financial Wealth, and Divestiture Activity in Family Firms
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2012-06-06
Author(s)
Abstract
In addition to a ‘long list' of industry-, firm-, and unit-specific antecedents, behavioral antecedents for divestiture activity increasingly attract scholarly attention. Not exclusively driven by economic considerations, family firms offer a unique setting to examine behavioral influences on corporate divestiture activity; it is therefore surprising that these firms have been disregarded in divestiture research so far. Based on the concept of socioemotional wealth, this study aims to address this gap. Socioemotional wealth exerts a significant influence on the decision to divest; an inertia toward divestitures in family firms is the consequence. However, this perspective is incomplete: Family owners' considerations on financial wealth concentration counterbalance socioeconomic barriers to divest. The results based on a longitudinal sample confirm the theoretical reasoning and reveal an u-shaped relationship between family ownership and the probability to engage in divestiture activity that is strengthened by performance hazard.
Language
English
Keywords
Family firms
divestitures
socioemotional wealth
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Book title
TSocial Innovation for Competitiveness, Organisational Performance and Human Excellence
Publisher
RSM
Start page
40
Event Title
12th European Academy of Management Conference (EURAM) 2012
Event Location
Rotterdam
Event Date
06.-08.06.2012
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
211008