Family Enterprise and Context

Abstract

There has been increasing attention to the heterogeneity of family businesses but recognition of the heterogeneity of the contexts in which family firms operate is only now emerging. The articles and commentaries in this special issue contribute to the understanding of some of the institutional and organizational contexts in which family businesses operate and the impact of this variety on their behavior, strategies, and performance. We discuss the importance of context and questions for future research that deal with the interrelationships between different contexts and the behaviors of different types of family firms.