Family business research: an assessment and future directions

This article assesses the growing field of family business and suggests an integrated framework. The paper addresses a number of key issues facing family business research. First, it examines the unique characteristics of family business and the influence of family embeddedness on research in the field. In particular, the paper assesses both the theoretical and methodological implications of family embeddedness on family business research. Second, it addresses both the theoretical and empirical challenges facing research in the field. Finally, the paper suggests mid-range theory as an approach to integrate the diverse theories and paradigms borrowed from other disciplines.