Family Entrepreneurship : Rethinking the research agenda

Family business is the most widely found form of business organization, with enormous importance to the global economy. Yet the contribution of family systems to entrepreneurial success and the key role of the family, has been underexplored. Including contributions from Richard Harrison, Sara Carter, Alisdair Anderson and Freiderike Welter amongst others, it explores the diversity of contexts and processes associated with entrepreneurship in family setting, and develops a new research agenda on the linkages between family, family firms and entrepreneurship.

Family business is the most prominent form of business organization, and its importance to the global economy cannot be under-estimated. Until recently, the impact of the family on entrepreneurial firms has been under-researched, leading to a conceptual gap between the two areas of study, and an underestimation of the contribution of family systems to entrepreneurial success.

Starting from the consideration that family is an intimate and essential aspect of entrepreneurship, this book considers connections between family, family members, entrepreneurial behavior, family business, society and the economy. Bringing together a unique range of international contributions, it offers new theoretical perspectives and empirical insights as well as an in-depth consideration of the diversity of contexts and processes associated with entrepreneurship in family settings.

Above all, this book opens up a comprehensive research agenda on the linkages between family, family firms and entrepreneurship and will be of interest to researchers, educators and advanced students of entrepreneurship, small firms and family business.