A system performance model to capture the potential for enterprising family advantage and corresponding performance outcomes

Family business advocates claim family enterprises have an advantage over their non-family counterparts. However, for every positive supposition, not surprisingly, there is an alternate argument that counters any family enterprise advantages are short-lived and families in business struggle over the long-term due to the inherent conflict at the interface of business and family systems. In this study, our research question is: To what extent does the family enterprise advantage create a competitive advantage for family businesses? We answer our research question by introducing and testing a system performance model to capture the enterprising family advantage and corresponding performance outcomes, as outlined below. The motivation for the tested relationships is drawn from a conceptual model introduced by Habbershon and Williams and reasoning raised by, among others, Chrisman, Steier, and Chua