The accounting performance of listed family firms vs. non-family firms: a systematic review of empirical studies

Abstract

During the past couple of decades, scholars have identified a group of exchange-listed firms that seem to differ from others when it comes to performance: dominantly family-owned firms. However, the factors explaining performance differentials between family-dominated and other listed firms are still quite unclear. In this study, we conduct a systematic review of the empirical research on the accounting performance of listed family firms vs. non-family firms in order to map existing knowledge on the subject. Our review shows that many of the explanations given to performance differentials are assumptions, hypotheses and speculation, while in-depth understanding is lacking mainly due to methodological deficiencies. With this study, we provide new research gaps and avenues for further research in order to encourage more discussion on the topic.