Title: Exploring the socio-emotional dimensions of corporate governance in family firms: a systematic and bibliometric review

Authors: Manpreet Kaur Khurana; Shweta Sharma; Debidutta Pattnaik

Addresses: Department of Management Studies, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India ' Department of Management Studies, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India ' International Management Institute, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India

Abstract: Motivated by the increasing interest in the unique nature of family firms, this research intends to highlight the potential developments in the financial decisions made by family firms. The study examines the replacement of conventional theories affecting the capital structure with alternative paradigms designed to advance the proprietors' interests, leading family firms to accumulate socio-emotional wealth. Studying 145 significant articles published between 1991 and 2023, we discovered 'socio-emotional wealth' as a fundamental self-centred construct that originates in the desire to retain family control in the firm. With clusters formed through bibliographic coupling and co-citation, the article presents a knowledge foundation in the research. Additionally, the study highlights trends, thematic content, and future research directions through co-occurrence and post-hoc analysis. Finally, the paper criticises multiple assumptions historically undermined in family firm research and proposes theoretical research that can lead to the distinctive behavioural paradigm in the financial choice of family firms.

Keywords: capital structure; family firms; socio-emotional wealth; SEW; bibliographic coupling; co-citation analysis; co-occurrence.

DOI: 10.1504/GBER.2025.147994

Global Business and Economics Review, 2025 Vol.33 No.2, pp.176 - 201

Received: 13 Dec 2023
Accepted: 13 Apr 2024
Published online: 13 Aug 2025 *

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