Family firms have been recognized a

Family firms have been recognized as an important
governance structure of business organizations in
both developed and developing economies, with a
substantial impact on the development of national
economies. Among the Fortune 500 firms, ownership
concentration and large shareholders are common
(Demsetz and Lehn 1985), and founding families
continue to hold equity stakes and board seats in
nearly 33 percent of the firms (Shleifer and Vishny
1986). Family firms also constitute over 35% of the
S&P 500 Industrials, and families own nearly 18% of
their firms’ outstanding equity (Anderson and Reeb
2003). In general, more than 80% of all incorporated
businesses in the United States are small and familyowned
(Kirchhoff and Kirchhoff 1987). In Asia and
Europe about 38 and 43 percent of firms, respectively,
are family businesses (Faccio et al. 2001). In
many developed economies, family businesses are a
key source of funding for new startups that create
employment and promote economic and technological
progress (Astrachan et al. 2003)