Examining the relationship between firm size and external advice on legal matters and human resources by family businesses

Abstract

In this paper the authors study the relationship between the use of external advice and the size of a Spanish family business, focusing especially on the advice on legal matters and human resources, due to the importance of these particular issues for family firms. To fulfill this objective, an in-depth review of the literature has been performed, as well as an empirical study. The results show that a family nature of business has a positive impact in the use of human resources management external advice. Nevertheless, for legal advice no relationship can be found. Finally, in line with the literature and the results of the analysis, no positive relationship has been found between family business size and the use of external advice, in comparison to the results for companies in general. The scarcity of published work about the issue and the results obtained, especially those related to the use of legal advice for family business managers, make this paper useful for researchers and businesses managers.

Keywords:

• family business
• human resources advising
• legal advising
• size
• external advice
• family business management
• family nature

JEL Classification:

• M21
• M29
• C13

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sonia Benito-Hernández

Sonia BENITO-HERNÁNDEZ, PhD in Financial Economy (Universidad Complutense de Madrid). After a stage of professional development in the financial sector, she focused her energies on academic activities. She is now a Professor in business organization at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. She also belongs to the Research School of Cooperative Studies of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Her research focuses on SMEs and family businesses with books and papers published in scientific journals.

Cristina López-Cózar-Navarro

Cristina LÓPEZ-CÓZAR-NAVARRO, PhD in Business and Economics (Universidad Europea de Madrid), is a Professor of Business Organization at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Her more recent research interest includes SMEs and family businesses with books and papers published in scientific journals as well as international congresses.

Tiziana Priede-Bergamini

Tiziana PRIEDE-BERGAMINI, PhD in Financial Economy (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), is a Professor at Universidad Europea de Madrid. Her major areas of research and teaching include business management, entrepreneurship, SMEs and family business. She is the author of several books and articles in scientific journals related to these topics.