Role conflicts of family members in family firms

Abstract

The existence of role conflict among organizational members tends to create tensions inside organizations worldwide. However, in the context of family firms, having a dual role of being a member of a family and a member of the firm can represent interesting differences that make family firms an important form of organization to study. Following the tenets of the stewardship theory, our article develops a model where reciprocal altruism represents an antecedent to role conflict among family members. We further argue that perceptions of collective efficacy among family members have a moderating effect on the relationship between reciprocal altruism and role conflict. Last, we propose that role conflict in family firms reduces the family firm performance. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Keywords:

• Family firms
• Role conflict
• Reciprocal altruism
• Collective efficacy

Notes

1 Family members not working in the family firm are also exposed to role conflict. This group of family members, however, is beyond the scope of our article.