Beyond exit: The afterlife of socioemotional wealth in business families

What happens to socioemotional wealth (SEW) after a family exits a business? Research suggests that SEW shapes family firm exit decisions, treating exit as the endpoint of socioemotional value. We challenge this assumption by developing a conceptual model that theorizes SEW as a multilocus endowment residing not only in ownership and governance control but also in family identity, relational embeddedness, reputational standing, and transgenerational aspirations. Building on recent reconceptualizations of SEW as dynamic, multidimensional, and socially embedded, we propose a moderated process model in which exit triggers, modes, and motives shape postexit SEW trajectories and preexit SEW configurations condition these effects. Three distinct postexit trajectories are theorized: (1) SEW attenuation/dissolution, (2) SEW preservation through symbolic continuity, and (3) SEW transformation and reinvestment through new organizational vehicles. By repositioning exit as a socioemotional reconfiguration event rather than a terminal outcome, we extend SEW research and advance a trajectory-based understanding of business-family continuity beyond ownership boundaries.