Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics
Abstract
The success of family businesses is largely due to a circular relationship in which three
intangible factors enhance each other: love for the family business, trust among different
business factors, and freedom of behaviour for family members (Gallo et al., 2001). These
values are the cornerstone on which family members base their commitment to the business.
But how can family members of advanced generations, especially those who are not active in
the business, become more committed to the success of the family business? And are there
gender-specific roles, as the literature on this subject seems to indicate?
The research outlined in this document seeks to enlarge the current pool of knowledge,
offering the results of a study involving 98 Spanish family businesses, in which a total of 200
non-active family members responded to a questionnaire about their relationship with the
family business and their associated relatives.
The main results confirm the existing literature by revealing that women are expected to play
certain roles such as managing the household and child-rearing. Even though these roles are
not clearly defined, women perceive numerous obstacles when attempting to assume roles
beyond the domestic sphere. Nevertheless, our results confirm that, regardless of the degree of
women’s direct participation in the family business, their strong commitment towards the
business as well as their other qualities can permeate the family relationship to the point of
affecting the business performance by influencing the entrepreneur’s motivation and businessrelated
decisions. Through her passion for the family she provides the business with a powerful
asset: the strong “family glue”