Uncovering family owner – nonfamily CEO dynamics in private family firms

Abstract

The main research objective of this dissertation is to expand our knowledge surrounding family owner – nonfamily CEO dynamics in private family firms. Based on three empirical studies, this dissertation sheds light on different mechanisms that promote or hinder the family owner - nonfamily CEO collaboration. More specifically, we uncovered and detailed the role and nature of relationships, CEO personality, and the dark side of psychological ownership and territorial behavior to enrich our understanding of nonfamily CEOs in private family firms. These insights add to the current academic field by identifying and filling several gaps related to the topic of nonfamily CEOs in family firms. Moreover, we shed new light on the challenges facing family firms that (intend to) employ a nonfamily CEO, and for nonfamily CEOs who (intend to) work for a family firm. As such, we have paved part of the way in this research field, yet there are still many directions which remain underresearched. Therefore, we hope our dissertation will prompt further research on the decisions, behavior and performance of family firms led by a nonfamily CEO. A more detailed reading can be found in the dissertation.