Founder Centrality and Strategic Behavior in the Family-Owned Firm

This paper explores how founders influence strategic management in the family business. The authors suggest it is essential to consider the central influence of a family firm's founder on the top management group and on the firm's strategic values, goals, and behavior. They further posit that a founder can be expected to shape the family firm's interactions with the external environment. The authors explore the central role that a founder plays in a family business from a social network perspective and establish the basis for the founder centrality concept. Further, they develop a framework and propositions from which the founder's influence on strategic behavior and performance may be studied.