Exploring Emotion Challenges in Family Businesses: Adaptation or Mastery with Green Innovativeness? A Resource-Based View Perspective

Authors: Syed Amjad Hussain, Dr. Jakaria Dasan, Dr. Abdul Karim

This conceptual paper identifies the uniqueness of family businesses lies in their emphasis on socioemotional wealth (SEW), which sets them apart from non-family businesses. However, this unique focus can sometimes hinder the performance of family businesses because it may lead to decisions driven more by emotions than economic considerations. These emotionally-driven characteristics can have both positive and negative effects on performance. Based on the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory, this research investigates the importance of certain attributes of family businesses, specifically 'family prominence, family enrichment, and family continuity,' which are components of SEW. We consider these attributes as organizational resources and examine how they influence performance with green innovativeness affects and developed some propositions. Our conceptualization, supported by the related literature, indicated that not all of these resources may have a positive impact on the performance of family businesses. Interestingly, green innovativeness plays a crucial role as a mediator in the relationships between these resources and performance outcomes. This study contributes to the field theoretically by recognizing SEW as a resource for family businesses using the RBV framework to assess the impact of SEW on family business’s performance and exploring the mediating role of green innovativeness.