Entrepreneurial Risk Taking of Private Family Firms: The Influence of a Nonfamily CEO and the Moderating Effect of CEO Tenure

This article aims to increase our understanding of family firms' entrepreneurial risk-taking behavior by looking at the differences between family and nonfamily firms and by studying variations among family firms. We find empirical support for a positive influence of a nonfamily CEO on the family firm's level of entrepreneurial risk taking during the initial years of his or her CEO tenure and a leveling out of entrepreneurial risk taking as the CEO tenure of the nonfamily CEO is extended. We build on the concept of psychological ownership to explain these new findings.

Publication year:2013

Keywords:Business, entrepreneurial risk taking, nonfamily CEO, agency theory, psychological ownership, socioemotional wealth

BOF-keylabel:yes

IOF-keylabel:yes

BOF-publication weight:10

CSS-citation score:3

Authors from:Higher Education

Accessibility:Closed