Achieving Sustained Competitive Advantage: A Family Capital Theory

Abstract

Although it has been long asserted that family businesses hold advantages over nonfamily businesses, to date, there have been very few theories developed as to exactly why family businesses hold competitive advantages over nonfamily businesses. This article introduces the concept of family capital and proposes that family capital has potential impact on business performance. Specifically, this article suggests that family businesses with high levels of family capital possibly do hold a sustained competitive advantage over family businesses with low levels of family capital and/or nonfamily businesses.