Journal Article

Influence of family ownership on small business growth. Evidence from French SMEs

Hamelin, Anaïs

2013

Overview

The performance implications of family ownership have been studied extensively. However, studies that investigate the influence of family ownership on small business growth remain scarce and suffer from several shortcomings. To remedy these shortcomings, this paper uses a very large sample of French SMEs to explore the relationship between family ownership and small business growth. First, this study shows that there is a negative, although nonmonotonic, relationship between family ownership and small business economic growth. Second, it explores the channel through which family ownership affects firm growth. Results suggest that firms with greater family ownership are prone to below-potential rates of economic growth, given their internal financing resources. Overall, the results suggest that small family businesses have a propensity to deliberately limit their growth (i.e., they adopt conservative growth behavior).

• Publisher: Springer,Springer US,Springer Nature B.V,Springer Verlag
• Subject: Business and Management / Business expansion / Business growth / Business structures / Economic growth / Economic growth potential / Economic growth rate / Entrepreneurship / Evidence / Families & family life / Family firms / Family owned businesses / Financial leverage / France / General Finance / Growth rate / Hypotheses / Industrial Organization / Investment rates / Long run economic growth / Management / Microeconomics / Ownership / Quantitative Finance / Sales growth / Small & medium sized enterprises-SME / Small and medium sized enterprises / Small business / Small businesses / Stockholders / Strategic management / Studies / Sustainable growth