Corporate entrepreneurship in family business: the when and how

This paper investigates the dynamic nature of Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) in Family Business (FB). In response to Hoy (ETP, 2006) claim, that family firms’ entrepreneurial initiatives should be investigated considering the “complicating factor of life cycles”, we explore the joint impact of ownership life cycle (OLC) and corporate life cycle (CLC) on the “when” and “how” of CE in FB. Through a systematic literature review, we assess 80 scholarly contributions in the field of CE within the FB context revealing that: a) life cycles are mostly neglected; b) when some attention is given to the dynamic of CE, the joint effect of the two life cycles is highly overlooked; c) with particular reference to OLC, empirical and conceptual indeterminacies arise concerning the evolution of the FB entrepreneurial behavior. Drawing from the theoretical approaches emerging from the review - agency and stewardship theories, resource-based view and socio-emotional wealth perspective - we elaborate propositions on the “when” and “how” of CE in FB which aim to reconcile inconsistencies and extend this field of research. This paper is particularly informative to scholars and practitioners of FB. Yet it represents a valuable contribution also to non-family firms facing strategic, managerial or ownership transitions.