What is it about?
Why do many firms adopt good policies, such as CSR, sustainability, and green initiatives, but fail to implement them in their daily practices? This study focuses on the generation of family leaders who serve as the de facto controllers of many companies. Family businesses account for at least 70% of the world’s GDP. The study finds that founder-led family firms curb the positive impact of family ownership on decoupling, while descendant-led family firms have the opposite effect, strengthening this relationship. Founders differ from descendants in their socioemotional wealth, including cognitive identification, affective commitment, and social consideration.
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Why is it important?
Previous studies have found that family firms are generally less likely to decouple than nonfamily firms; however, family firms are often assumed to be homogeneous. The results of this research challenge this assumption and provide a new perspective on how some family firms behave differently from others in terms of CSR decoupling.
Perspectives
This study makes important contributions to the literature on the antecedents of CSR decoupling, an area where family firms have largely been overlooked. It advances CSR research by providing new insights into how generational differences within family firms influence CSR decoupling. By highlighting the contrasting dynamics between founder-led and descendant-led family firms, the study underscores the critical role of family leadership in shaping CSR decoupling.
Dr. Sang-Bum Park
University of Bradford
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Family leadership and CSR decoupling: Founder–descendant differences in socioemotional wealth, BRQ Business Research Quarterly, October 2024, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/23409444241289146.
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