The socioemotional wealth of leaders in family firm succession and corporate governance processes: a systematic literature review

Abstract

PurposeAdopting the research concept of socioemotional wealth (SEW) as applied to family firm leaders, this study aims to analyse the literature on succession and corporate governance processes in family firms in keeping with this still developing concept and thereby not only contributing to advancing knowledge on this field but also proposing a conceptual model of analysis and a future research agenda.Design/methodology/approachThe authors carried out a review and systematisation of the literature according to its different thematic groups through recourse to VOSviewer software and content analysis to establish a systematised and integrated structure of the reference literature based on a sample of 218 studies published and indexed on the Web of Science and SCOPUS databases between 2010 and 2021.FindingsThe results portray five leading clusters, specifically, (1) SEW and family firm performance; (2) SEW and the focus on leadership as a precursor to succession; (3) family firms, SEW and corporate social governance; (4) family firm innovation and performance; and (5) family ownership and management. The authors then put forward a conceptual model of analysis both to better integrate these topics and as a proposition for application in future research projects.Originality/valueThe study provides a new and solid systematisation of the literature and supports the argument that family firms concentrating on developing the leader's SEW increase the probability of structuring a successful succession process as well as the likelihood of achieving higher quality corporate governance.