Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/233714 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Citation: 
[Journal:] Journal of Economic Surveys [ISSN:] 1467-6419 [Volume:] 34 [Issue:] 3 [Publisher:] Wiley [Place:] Hoboken, NJ [Year:] 2020 [Pages:] 476-511
Publisher: 
Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
Abstract: 
The financial performance of family firms has been widely studied in the literature. Combining the results of 155 primary studies from 35 countries with data about business cycles, we investigate how family firm performance changes over the business cycle. Using meta-analytic estimation methods, we find that family firms outperform nonfamily firms in developed markets, irrespective of economic circumstances. This outperformance, although statistically significant, is very small and practically negligible. With regard to the business cycle, we find evidence for a procyclical effect in which the relative performance of family firms is lower in economically difficult times. Our study extends the literature on how family firm performance depends on macroeconomic factors.
Subjects: 
Business cycle
Family firms
Financial performance
Meta‐analysis
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-nc Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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