Family Control, Political Risk and Employment Security: A Cross-National Study

11Citations
Citations of this article
40Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Combining insights from the socioemotional wealth and institutional perspectives, we hypothesize that firms controlled by families offer greater job security to employees relative to non-family firms, and this positive employment effect is amplified in riskier institutional environments around the world. Using an unbalanced panel of 3181 listed firms from 33 countries over a 10-year period, we provide strong support for our hypotheses: family-controlled firms on average are less likely to reduce their workforce compared to their non-family counterparts, and this differential effect is magnified in weak institutional environments characterized by high political risk. These findings indicate that socioemotional wealth in family firms has a positive impact on employee welfare and that the use of a cross-country design serves to bridge discrepancies or inconsistencies in single country studies that have been done in the past. From a practical perspective we conclude that the beneficial role of socioemotional wealth on employment relations is more evident when it is needed the most, namely under a dysfunctional institutional environment.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Gómez-Mejía, L. R., Sanchez-Bueno, M. J., Miroshnychenko, I., Wiseman, R. M., Muñoz-Bullón, F., & De Massis, A. (2024). Family Control, Political Risk and Employment Security: A Cross-National Study. Journal of Management Studies, 61(6), 2338–2372. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12970

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free