Socioemotional Wealth in Family Firms

TLDR

The article argues that the socioemotional wealth (SEW) approach could become the dominant paradigm in family business research and proposes future research topics using SEW. The authors review SEW’s concept, dimensions, and links to other theories, and discuss measurement options and operationalization alternatives. The authors contend that SEW is the key differentiator of family firms as unique entities, explaining their distinctive behavior.

Abstract

This article makes the case for the socioemotional wealth (SEW) approach as the potential dominant paradigm in the family business field. The authors argue that SEW is the most important differentiator of the family firm as a unique entity and, as such, helps explain why family firms behave distinctively. In doing so, the authors review the concept of SEW, its different dimensions, and its links with other theoretical approaches. The authors also address the issue of how to measure this construct and offer various alternatives for operationalizing it. Finally, they offer a set of topics that can be pursued in future studies using the SEW approach.