Family involvement and financial performance: How do they affect the sustainability commitment of family businesses?

The socio-emotional wealth (SEW) perspective suggests that the specific priorities of a family business may make it more or less inclined to engage in sustainable practices. This paper examines how family business heterogeneity regarding family ownership, financial performance and family board membe...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: Sánchez-Andújar, Sonia, Parrado-Martínez, Purificación, Comino-Jurado, María
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2026
Country:España
Institution:Ajuntament de Barcelona
Repository:RUJA. Repositorio Institucional de la Producción Científica de la Universidad de Jaén
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:ruja________::e71d266a2f2ea8090ef006465869e7be
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70747
https://hdl.handle.net/10953/7797
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Sustainability commitment
Family business
Family involvement
Financial performance
Socio-emotional wealth
Board of directors
658.408
658.15
334.722.24(4)
Description
Summary:The socio-emotional wealth (SEW) perspective suggests that the specific priorities of a family business may make it more or less inclined to engage in sustainable practices. This paper examines how family business heterogeneity regarding family ownership, financial performance and family board members–affects the sustainability commitment of a sample of listed European family businesses. We estimate a partial least squares (PLS) model, the results of which indicate that a higher level of family ownership reduces sustainability commitment, whereas better financial performance increases it. Furthermore, family board members do not appear to moderate the family ownership-sustainability commitment relationship. Our findings provide novel theoretical insights into the impact of family business heterogeneity on sustainability practices and advance the debate on the factors promoting these practices in European family firms. These contributions offer valuable guidance for managers, investors, consultants, and regulators of family firms in decision-making and policy implementation.