This research contributes to the family business literature by providing the first empirical test of the developmental model for family business (DMFB), developed by Gersick, Davis, Hampton, and Lansberg (1997). Our testing of the DMFB, along with a review of the literature since its publication, allow us to identify key groups of variables that can help explain family business development. Specifically, we identify owner, firm, and family characteristics to augment the DMFB. Our hierarchical regression analysis of 934 firms suggests that the original model provides asolidfoundation forclassifyingfamily firms, but the augmented model explains significantly more variance in family firm development.
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