Purpose: Challenging the static view of family business governance, we propose a model of owner–manager relationships derived from the configurational analysis of managerial behavior and change in governance structure. Design/methodology/approach: Stemming from social exchange theory and...

In this study we investigate how the dispersion of family ownership among family members affects the performance of small-to-medium-size family firms. Based on agency theory and prior research on family firms, we develop arguments pointing to the existence of a U-shaped relationship between the...