Long-Term Orientation in Publicly Traded Family Businesses: Evidence of a Dominant Logic

Abstract

Drawing from the behavioral theory of the firm, we examine the role of a long-term orientation in decision making at publicly traded, family-influenced firms (FIFs). We advance a view of the family as part of a firm's dominant coalition and the resulting effects of a family-influenced coalition on the FIF's decision making. Using a sample of publicly traded firms, our findings indicate that FIFs' decision making reflects a focus on a long-term orientation, manifested in the greater accumulation of slack resources, less strategic risk taking, and lower bankruptcy risk than non-FIF firms.