Memili, Esra and Fang, Hanqing and Chrisman, James J. and De Massis, Alfredo (2015) The impact of small- and medium-sized family firms on economic growth. Small Business Economics, 45 (4). pp. 771-785. ISSN 0921-898X
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Abstract
Drawing on family business studies and the knowledge-based view of economic growth, we develop and test a model of how the prevalence of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) under family control affect economic growth. Specifically, we propose there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between family SMEs’ proportional representation and economic growth owing to their relative strengths and limitations vis-à-vis non-family SMEs. Using state-level data from the U.S. between 2004 and 2010, we find support for our hypothesis and the underlying contention that economic growth is maximized when an economy includes a balanced mix of family and non-family SMEs.