What does this research mean for the field?

Individual identity in family businesses has been inadequately treated as a derivative of collective meanings, and should instead be understood through an integrative process model as continuously enacted through systemic structures, multiple role identities, and temporal transitions. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.SYNTHESIS. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.CHALLENGES_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To systematically review individual-level identity research in family businesses and clarify how members reconcile internal self-definition with conflicting organizational and relational demands.

September 14, 2026Management Review QuarterlyOpen Access

Rethinking individual identity in family businesses: a systematic review and research agenda

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Authors

MAMarvin AssenmacherManagement Center Innsbruck

Discussion

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Implication

Systematic review uncovers conceptual fragmentation of individual identity in family businesses, highlighting the need for dynamic process models across generational transitions.

Key Points

To systematically review individual-level identity research in family businesses and clarify how members reconcile internal self-definition with conflicting organizational and relational demands.
Conducted a systematic review and qualitative content analysis across 42 purposefully sampled publications.
Integrated conceptual mechanisms from Social Identity Theory to evaluate how individual identity is constructed and maintained across generations.
Identified three pervasive structural gaps: an overreliance on system-level perspectives, fragmentation among role-based identity constructs, and an omission of temporal and developmental dynamics.
Formulated an integrative process model demonstrating that individual identity is actively enacted through systemic structures, multiple role identities, and iterative identity work during transitions.

Cite This Study

Marvin Assenmacher (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa7b2f70926e14a848b19e2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-026-00635-8

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Implication

Systematic review uncovers conceptual fragmentation of individual identity in family businesses, highlighting the need for dynamic process models across generational transitions.

Rethinking individual identity in family businesses: a systematic review and research agenda

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Rethinking individual identity in family businesses: a systematic review and research agenda

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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