Finance managers in family firms: An upper-echelons view

Purpose: Informed by upper echelons theory, the purpose of this paper is to synthesize the current knowledge on finance managers in family firms and to suggest valuable future research avenues. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is organized as a theory-informed literature review. Based on a keyword search in electronic databases, 17 journal articles that deal with finance managers in family firms were identified. In light of upper echelons theory, the results of these articles were analyzed and future research needs were identified. Findings: Overall, the current knowledge on finance managers in family firms is scant and fragmented. At the same time, this paper’s review findings indicate that finance managers can play decisive roles in family firms, which is why we need further research on their roles. Upper echelons theory is suggested in this paper as a theoretical framework that is well suited to guide such further research. Originality/value: This is the first review of the academic literature on finance managers in family firms. Its main value lies in providing a theory-informed synthesis of current research on this topic and highlighting fruitful future research avenues.