Re-thinking culture in family business: A twelve-year review

This paper reviews the literature that relate to culture and values in family business during the past twelve years. Six themes are revealed: definitions of culture; values and orientations; organizational culture in family business; family culture as determinants for organizational culture; national culture as determinants for organizational culture; and, products of culture in family business. Drawing from a sociological perspective, we argue and elaborate that the current scholarship are based on problematic assumptions where culture is defined based on its ‘coherence’ and ‘sharedness’, and that values are assumed as the core of culture. To direct future research, we draw our attention to the position of ‘practice’ in the production of culture, the explanation for cultural change and stability, and the potential ways of knowing through ethnography and narrative. We conclude by arguing that critical stances towards culture are needed to advance our scholarship and that cultural perspectives hold the power to contribute not only for the family business field but also for the wider social sciences.