Does Gender Matter? A Moderated Model for Family Climate and Psychological Ownership of the Family Firm as Experienced by Next-Generation Family Members.

Family business leaders often include preserving socioemotional wealth (SEW) and successful intergenerational succession efforts in their list of primary non-economic goals, yet most next-generation family members seek careers outside of the family business.
This research aims to understand how internal family dynamics affect the development of psychological ownership feelings towards the family business in next-generation family members. The moderating effect of gender, as socially constructed, was also explored.
Data was collected using a snowball technique and an anonymous online survey (n=161) and was analyzed using regression analysis. Next-generation family members were encouraged to participate regardless of their ownership of, or employee status within, the business. The family dynamics measured were cognitive cohesion, emotional cohesion, adaptability, communication, intergenerational attention to needs, and authority. Findings are included, followed by discussion, limitations, and future directions for research. Currently, family business scholars have a limited understanding of how and when psychologically related micro-factors manifest in next-generation family members; however, relationships have been identified between a business family's internal dynamics and the development of certain attitudes, beliefs, and feelings held by their next-generation family members. Despite this research's similarities to past examples in the SEW and related literature streams, no support was found for this study's hypothesized relationships. Additional empirical research is necessary to understand when and how a business family's internal dynamics influence the manifestation of psychological ownership feelings in their next-generation family members.