To merge, sell, or liquidate? Socioemotional wealth, family control, and the choice of business exit

Francesco Chirico, Luis R. Gómez-Mejia*, Karin Hellerstedt, Michael Withers, Mattias Nordqvist

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

117 Citations (Scopus)
62 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We take the perspective that considering the affective motives of dominant owners is essential to understanding business exit. Drawing on a refinement of behavioral agency theory, we argue that family-controlled firms are less likely than non-family-controlled firms to exit and tend to endure increased financial distress to avoid losses to the family’s socioemotional wealth (SEW) embodied in the firm. Yet, when confronted with different exit options and when performance heuristics suggest that exit is unavoidable, family firms are more likely to exit via merger, which we argue saves some SEW, although it is less satisfactory financially. In contrast, nonfamily firms are more likely to exit via sale or dissolution, options that are more prone to offer higher financial returns than mergers. Family and nonfamily firms thus show different orders of exit options. We find support for these arguments in a longitudinal matched sample of privately held firms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1342-1379
Number of pages38
JournalJournal of Management
Volume46
Issue number8
Early online date22 Jan 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • behavioral agency model
  • business exit
  • family business
  • financial distress
  • socioemotional wealth

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