The Sustainability of Resource-Sharing Family Business in Relation to Family Non-Economic Goals

摘要

Small and medium family businesses have distinct characteristics that differ from large corporations, with distinct challenges to their owner-managers. Many entrepreneurial families seek to achieve non-economic goals and share familial resources without compensation, not necessarily maximization of their sustainable value. As a consequence, traditional financial reporting is of limited use to them, as it does not reflect their priorities. This article introduces sustainability elements in the socio-emotional-wealth theory; identifies a family business type called resource-sharing; proposes a financial ruleset to quantify the sustainable financial position of the company regarding the achievement of non-economic goals of the family; and introduces an integrated mechanism to identify strategic implications for both family and business. Concepts are applied to family businesses from three countries, to verify applicability and usefulness.