Jonathan Bauweraerts

Few studies try to understand how the unique preferences of family firms affect tax strategies, and how family firm heterogeneity drives variation in tax activities. Drawing on the mixed gamble approach, this study examines the tax aggressiveness of different types of family firms, considering how various sources of heterogeneity alter the perception of potential gains and losses to socioemotional and financial wealth. Based on a panel dataset of 242 private family firms for the period… Show more

Few studies try to understand how the unique preferences of family firms affect tax strategies, and how family firm heterogeneity drives variation in tax activities. Drawing on the mixed gamble approach, this study examines the tax aggressiveness of different types of family firms, considering how various sources of heterogeneity alter the perception of potential gains and losses to socioemotional and financial wealth. Based on a panel dataset of 242 private family firms for the period 2012–2014, this study shows that strong family‐owned firms, family firms with a family CFO, family‐founder firms, and family‐named firms display lower levels of tax aggressiveness. These findings demonstrate that family firm heterogeneity is a crucial factor in the mixed gamble calculus of tax aggressiveness. Show less

Family business research suggests that family involvement in the board (FIB) may have both positive and negative effects on entrepreneurship. To reconcile these conflicting views, this study builds on stewardship theory, agency theory, and the resource-based view and proposes a nonlinear relationship between FIB and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) to explore how board task performance moderates this relationship. Using a sample of 208 Belgian private family firms, the findings show an inverted… Show more

Family business research suggests that family involvement in the board (FIB) may have both positive and negative effects on entrepreneurship. To reconcile these conflicting views, this study builds on stewardship theory, agency theory, and the resource-based view and proposes a nonlinear relationship between FIB and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) to explore how board task performance moderates this relationship. Using a sample of 208 Belgian private family firms, the findings show an inverted U-shaped relationship between FIB and EO, with EO declining beyond moderate levels of FIB. Furthermore, board monitoring task limits the negative effects of high FIB on EO, whereas the board service task does not have any significant effect. This study offers a more nuanced view of the governance conditions that affect EO in the context of private family firms, an overlooked topic in the family business field. Show less

While family business research has prominently recognized that family principals’ willingness to preserve their socioemotional wealth (SEW) affect decision-making and strategic choices, the literature remains relatively silent about the effect of SEW on entrepreneurship. By extending the scope of SEW to business families, this article endeavors to understand how SEW objectives affect the way in which intrafamily entrepreneurship manifests. Going a step further, it also explores the impact of… Show more

While family business research has prominently recognized that family principals’ willingness to preserve their socioemotional wealth (SEW) affect decision-making and strategic choices, the literature remains relatively silent about the effect of SEW on entrepreneurship. By extending the scope of SEW to business families, this article endeavors to understand how SEW objectives affect the way in which intrafamily entrepreneurship manifests. Going a step further, it also explores the impact of the individual dimensions of SEW on intrafamily entrepreneurship and identify distinctive logics that explain entrepreneurial activities in business families. Finally, we offer a set of directions and topics for future research. Show less

La littérature sur les entreprises familiales montre que la transmission peut améliorer ou détériorer leur performance. Cependant, peu d’études ont appréhendé cette problématique en intégrant la technique de transmission comme facteur explicatif de la performance post-transmission. Cette recherche utilise la méthodologie du pairage statistique de manière à comparer la performance de PME familiales transmises à celles d’homologues non transmises. Les résultats montrent une influence positive de… Show more

La littérature sur les entreprises familiales montre que la transmission peut améliorer ou détériorer leur performance. Cependant, peu d’études ont appréhendé cette problématique en intégrant la technique de transmission comme facteur explicatif de la performance post-transmission. Cette recherche utilise la méthodologie du pairage statistique de manière à comparer la performance de PME familiales transmises à celles d’homologues non transmises. Les résultats montrent une influence positive de la transmission par revente sur la performance de l’entreprise et une influence négative de la transmission par succession pendant les 2 années qui suivent la transmission.


Family business literature shows that succession can affect performance in both positive and negative ways. However, little research has investigated this problematic by integrating ownership transfer techniques as explanatory factors of family firm performance. This paper uses paired sample methodology to compare the performance of transmitted family SMEs with that of non-transmitted family SMEs. The results show that ownership transfer by resale positively affects family firm performance while ownership transfer by inheritance exerts a negative influence on family firm performance during a 2-year post-succession period. Show less

The literature on family SMEs usually shows a negative influence of succession on performance. Based on a behavioural approach, we identify several advantages of intrafamily succession that enhance value creation. In order to confirm the positive impact of intrafamily succession on performance, a matched pair research design is used to compare the effect of succession between 102 family and nonfamily SMEs. Our results indicate that intrafamily succession contributes to value creation in family… Show more

The literature on family SMEs usually shows a negative influence of succession on performance. Based on a behavioural approach, we identify several advantages of intrafamily succession that enhance value creation. In order to confirm the positive impact of intrafamily succession on performance, a matched pair research design is used to compare the effect of succession between 102 family and nonfamily SMEs. Our results indicate that intrafamily succession contributes to value creation in family SMEs. Moreover, intrafamily succession leads to higher levels of performance in comparison with nonfamily SMEs experiencing succession and ownership transfer. Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Show less

Résumé:L’objectif de cet article est d’appréhender la capacité de résilience des entreprises familiales face à la crise financière de 2008 au travers de leurs capacités d’absorption et de renouvellement. Sur la base d’un échantillon de 216 entreprises du marché belge et la méthode de l’appairage statistique, les résultats montrent que la poursuite d’objectifs émotionnels, la plus grande flexibilité opérationnelle et la meilleure disponibilité des ressources au sein des entreprises familiales… Show more

Résumé:L’objectif de cet article est d’appréhender la capacité de résilience des entreprises familiales face à la crise financière de 2008 au travers de leurs capacités d’absorption et de renouvellement. Sur la base d’un échantillon de 216 entreprises du marché belge et la méthode de l’appairage statistique, les résultats montrent que la poursuite d’objectifs émotionnels, la plus grande flexibilité opérationnelle et la meilleure disponibilité des ressources au sein des entreprises familiales influencent positivement leurs capacités d’absorption et de renouvellement, et donc leur potentiel de résilience.

Abstract: The main purpose of this article is to investigate organizational resilience in the context of family firms by analyzing their absorptive and renewal capacities during the 2008 financial crisis. Applying a matched-pairs research design to a sample of 216 Belgian firms, our results suggest that socioemotional wealth preservation, higher operating flexibility, and greater resources availability positively influence absorption and renewal capacities within family firms, and thus their potential of resilience.

Resumen:El objetivo de esta investigación es determinar la capacidad de resiliencia de las empresas familiares en respuesta a la crisis financiera de 2008, gracias a sus capacidades de absorción y renovación. Teniendo como base una muestra de 216 empresas del mercado belga y el método de los pares estadísticos, los resultados demuestran que la búsqueda de objetivos emocionales, una mayor flexibilidad a nivel operacional y la mejor disponibilidad de los recursos en el seno de las empresas familiares influyen positivamente sobre sus capacidades de absorción y de renovación, y por lo tanto de su potencial de resiliencia. Show less