Family firms are important contributors to economic development globally. Beyond economic contributions, family firms are associated with important non-financial influences and considerations, such as how they treat employees, change their identity and purpose, invest their financial assets, utilize social ties for strategic decisions, and realize their ethical responsibility. This webinar seeks to continue initial scholarly discussions at our PDW at AOM 2025, which Melanie Richards co-organized with Mohamed Genedy and Josh Hsueh, and covers diverse yet interconnected and less-researched topics of family firms’ social impacts. These topics include:
(1) Well-being and (Mental) Health—how family members and non-family employees manage their psychology;
(2) Strategy and Identity—how strategic transformations and identity shifts in family firms impact stakeholders, competitors, and industries;
(3) Family Offices—how family investment companies influence society through investment choices and preferences;
(4) Social Embeddedness and Capital—how the family’s connections in the local setting influence the regional development; and
(5) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)—whether family owners’ unique goals promote or hinder responsible behavior on firm level.
Next to a research presentation and overview, this webinar features online roundtables. These discussions aim to spark new ideas across the five topics.
To participate, please register at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/meKSUQctS8C4rZ245ckN8A
Melanie Richards is Associate Professor at the Technical University of Munich (Germany) where she holds the Chair for Family Business Culture and Ownership (EQUA endowed). Before, she has been Associate Professor at the University of Bath (UK). Her main research interests include entrepreneurship, innovation and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in family businesses. Her work has been published in leading journals such as Journal of Management Studies, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Product Innovation Management. She is currently serving on the editorial review board of Family Business Review.
Josh Wei-Jun Hsueh is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Family Entrepreneurship and Ownership (CeFEO), Jönköping International Business School in Sweden. His research focuses on the social issues related to entrepreneurship and family businesses, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy and individual stakeholders’ well-being. His publications can be found in several important management journals, such as Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Business Ethics, and Family Business Review. He is also an Associate Editor at the Journal of Small Business Management.
Mohamed Genedy’s research interests include emerging enterprises (e.g., scale-ups, start-ups) and well-being, family entrepreneurship, and ownership. His research has been published in the Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. He is a Post Doctoral Researcher at the House of Innovation, Stockholm School of Economics and Jönköping International Business School.
