Published in
Royal Economic Society 2010 Conference
Abstract
Family-owned businesses differ from other businesses, not only in terms of size, but in owner preferences and managerial style. We explore the effects of family ownership on workplace survival and ownership change in Norway and Britain, two countries where the incidence of family firms and the conditions they face differ markedly. In Britain family ownership and family management are not significant determinants of closure or ownership change per se, but wellperforming family firms have a lower likelihood of closure than other firms. In Norway, on the other hand, performance does not differentially affect the probability of closure by family ownership status. What matters here is who manages the family firm: professionally-managed family businesses are less likely than non-family and family-managed family businesses to close, but they are also more likely to experience a change of ownership.