Are Family Owners Willing to Risk “Rocking the Boat”? A Blended Socioemotional Wealth-Implicit Theory Framework

Abstract

We leverage research on socioemotional wealth (SEW) and implicit theories to develop a novel blended SEW-implicit theory framework that explains why some family firms are more risk seeking or more risk averse. According to implicit theory, individuals perceive reality through their interpretative cognitive filters. Those with an entity theory orientation see reality as relatively fixed or uncontrollable, while those with an incremental-implicit theory orientation tend to perceive reality as malleable and change as leading to positive outcomes. We theorize that family firms with high SEW intensity tend to adopt an entity orientation, whereas those with low SEW intensity tend to adopt an incremental orientation. Accordingly, we propose that the likelihood that family owners hold either orientation is shaped by organizational features associated with SEW intensity, namely (a) the salience of family versus business identity, (b) family founder imprinting, (c) generational stage, and (d) favorable path dependence. In turn, family owners with an entity orientation are less likely to take risks compared to family owners with an incremental orientation. Furthermore, we theorize that a firm’s performance hazard can shift family owners’ implicit orientation from entity-based to incremental and vice versa, thereby impacting their risk-taking behavior.