PTFamily business: who decides and how much the family weighs
From the neighborhood bakery to a large bank, a family can be in charge. But what counts as a strategic decision when the family is at the table? In three studies, the thesis reviews more than 300 articles, proposes a definition made for these companies and shows that being a family business is a matter of degree, not yes or no. Explained in 12 screens.
The six degrees of family presence the thesis proposes, as regions in a cube with three axes: ownership, board and management. Drag to rotate.
Three studies, from the small business to the family business
Many family businesses are small, but not every small business is a family one, and not every family business is small. So the author starts with small businesses, moves on to family businesses and ends by redrawing the very concept of a family business.
In a small business, strategy runs through the owner's head
More than half of the studies look at the owner as the decision-maker. That magnifies the weight of the owner's knowledge, experience and biases: many decisions depart from rational calculation and follow intuition and rules of thumb (heuristics).
Tap a decision level.
Out of every 100 studies in the review, 54 treat decisions at the owner level (section "Decision-Making" of Study 1). The thesis does not report the share of each of the other levels.
Much on money and knowledge; little on reputation, succession and diversity
The field is growing, but without a shared theory and with very different methods, which makes studies hard to compare. Change the view and tap the bars.
Many studies call themselves strategic; few say what that means
The vast majority of articles do not define what makes a decision strategic. When they do, they tend to copy the definition made for large non-family firms. And many seem to fit themselves into the strategy field only after they are done.
The author set aside the articles that propose a definition and looked in them for signs of the family. Tap an element.
Table 1 of Study 2. Each small square is one of the 23 definitions; in red, those that use the element. Our count from the table; two definitions use none of the four.
A definition of strategy that puts the family in the sentence
The starting point is the definition of strategic management by Nag, Hambrick and Chen (2007), widely used in the field. The author split it into six parts and adjusted each one to what the family business definitions kept repeating.
Table 2 and the final definition of Study 2, in the thesis's own words. Tap a part to see where it came from.
Company size changes who decides and what is on the agenda
Most studies look at small and medium-sized firms. In larger ones, decisions move to the CEO, the top management team and the board, but the family stays close. Almost no study compares sizes systematically. Tap a layer.
Sections "Firm Size", "Scope of Operations", "Resources" and "Decision-Making Loci" of Study 2. The layers are a sketch: the width does not measure the number of studies. Reputation appears at every size; the choice of industry is almost never justified.
Is it a family business or not? It depends on the yardstick
Studies usually split companies into family and non-family with a cutoff: 25%, 50% or 75% of the shares, family in management or on the board. Change the yardstick and watch six companies switch sides. Why does 51% count and 49% not?
The six companies are the six configurations in Table 1 of Study 3, each at the midpoint of the ranges the thesis estimates (our calculation). The 25%, 50% and 75% cutoffs are the ones the thesis cites as common in research.
Being a family business is a matter of degree, on three fronts
Instead of asking whether a company is a family business, the thesis asks how much and through which channels the family takes part: in the shares, on the board and in management. Each company becomes a point in a cube, and six regions serve as reference points. Choose a type or move the controls.
Ranges and examples from Table 1 of Study 3 (the fictional names are the thesis's), which calls them approximations. The "closest" type is our calculation: the shortest distance between the point and the regions. No position is better than another.
Not a staircase: companies move down, move up or stay put
Many large family businesses went through the first configurations, diluting shares, formalizing the board and professionalizing management. But that path is not mandatory. Choose a trajectory.
Section "Non-linearity, trajectories, and path diversity" of Study 3. The thesis describes the kinds of trajectory without tying them to configuration numbers; the start and end points drawn here are our examples.
The figure convinced all six experts; the text, four of six
The author asked six experts to assess the written model and the cube figure. The figure was approved unanimously. On the written model, four agreed and two disagreed, partly or strongly, with each statement.
Tap a statement.
Table 2 of Study 3 (questionnaire in Appendix 4). Each small square is one expert. The thesis does not describe who the reviewers are.
Knowing where the family stands helps decide better
Owners and families
Placing the company on the three fronts helps discuss whether share concentration, board composition and family presence in management fit long-term goals.
Small business owners
When everything runs through the owner, the owner's biases weigh. The author suggests structured decision tools and investing in the technical and management knowledge of whoever decides.
Consultants
Challenges change with position: near full family influence, succession and basic governance; near residual and legacy family, coordinating shareholders and managing the legacy.
Governments
Family businesses are not a single block. Support programs can take into account the degree of family presence, not just the "family" label.
What this research does not say
- Only indexed, peer-reviewed articles (Web of Science in Study 1; plus Scopus in Study 2): books, theses and practitioner texts were left out. · according to the author
- Classifying and coding texts involves judgment, and other researchers might group them differently. · according to the author
- The definition and the cube have not yet been tested with companies; the ranges of the six configurations are approximations. · according to the author
- Three fronts do not cover everything about the family: cohesion, conflict and dispersion across generations were left out. · according to the author
- The validation heard six experts, a small sample, with no description of the reviewers. · our note
Credits
LIMA, Alan Souza. Strategic decision-making in family businesses: an assessment of determining factors. Doctoral thesis (Business Administration) — Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, 2026. Advisor: Prof. Dr. Fellipe Silva Martins.
The thesis was written in English, with support from CNPq (Brazil's National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) and the Mackenzie Presbyterian Institute. This version simplifies the work for a general audience; the full tables and references are in the original text.