Copreneurs and Dual-Career Couples: Are They Different?

There are assumptions about copreneurs that they represent an emerging egalitarian style of family business ownership and that they operate in their marriages similarly to dual-career couples. Unfortunately, there has been little empirical research to support these assumptions. The current study examines these assumptions by comparing a population of copreneurs and dual-career couples on variables such as sex-role orientation, self-concept at work and home, and marital and business partnership equity. The findings indicate that copreneurs and dual-career couples define their work and home boundaries very differently. Recommendations for professional practice include (1) expanding the consultant's consciousness about these differences in couples, and (2) encouraging more egalitarian relationships between copreneurial husband and wife so as to better prepare the business for succession.