Title: Embracing a new perspective on the governance of family business groups: a cross-cultural perspective

Authors: Bice Della Piana; Alessandra Vecchi; Alfredo Jimenez

Addresses: Department of Management & Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy ' School of Management, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy ' Department of Management, Kedge Business School, Talence, France

Abstract: Family Business Groups (FBGs) are a significant and long-standing phenomenon widespread around the world. Their governance mechanisms have previously been investigated at firm-level and country-level. However, little attention has been paid at cluster-level of analysis by considering the differences in national culture. Based on a sample of 117 publications, this article provides a systematic literature review on the FBGs' governance mechanisms by taking a broad perspective in the selection process of the publications. There is evidence from the findings that supports the idea of variations of the governance mechanisms between different cultural clusters. Additionally, core aspects related to the resilience of these mechanisms within the cultural clusters are identified. Our research provides support to the argument that governance mechanisms across countries tend to be culturally embedded and cluster-dependent.

Keywords: family business group; governance; cross-cultural perspective; GLOBE; cultural cluster.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2018.091368

European Journal of International Management, 2018 Vol.12 No.3, pp.223 - 254

Received: 25 May 2015
Accepted: 17 Mar 2016
Published online: 30 Apr 2018 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article