Journal of Business Ethics

Hadjielias, Elias; De Massis, Alfredo; Christofi, Michael; Manika, Danae; Brammer, Stephen

doi: 10.1007/s10551-025-05989-9pmid: N/A

Family business ethics are uniquely shaped by family influence and a strong emphasis on preserving socioemotional wealth. Although research in this area has grown rapidly in recent years, it remains fragmented and underdeveloped. Advancing the field requires a more integrated approach that consolidates existing concepts and dimensions. This paper synthesizes current knowledge and proposes an integrative framework for studying ethical issues in family firms that encompasses ethical determinants, processes, and outcomes. We also examine how existing research contributes to the family business ethics literature and outline directions for future study.

Miller, Danny; Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle

doi: 10.1007/s10551-025-05939-5pmid: N/A

Despite the important progress being made in the study of family business ethicality, there remains a lack of consensus in the findings and some ambiguity concerning the concept. We propose a new perspective on family firm ethicality by building on a modified socioemotional wealth perspective. We theorize why family firms are likely to manifest exceptionally ethical or equally unethical behavior during crises, arguing this to be caused by the close socioemotional connection between family owners and their firms, the decision-making discretion of these owners, and the secrecy with which they can act. We extend our framework to multiple stakeholders – employees, customers, and local, national, and global communities. Positive and negative examples are provided of firms confronting specific economic, human, and natural crises – demanding situations that reveal authentic ethicality when the pressure is on. We also introduce the notions of ethical heterogeneity, focus and coverage, and their moderators, arguing that the same family and firm may exhibit both ethical and unethical behavior depending on the crisis and stakeholders concerned. Propositions are provided throughout, and research implications are drawn.

Casprini, Elena; Palumbo, Rocco; Cammeo, Jacopo; Zanni, Lorenzo

doi: 10.1007/s10551-025-05944-8pmid: N/A

Drawing on virtue ethics and stakeholder theory, the article investigates the unfolding of business ethics in the wine industry, with a focus on family businesses. Attention is specifically paid to the interplay of internal (i.e., employees-centeredness and organizational inclusiveness) and external (i.e., people-centeredness and territorial development) ethical orientations. A unique sample of 164 Italian wine businesses was built to get evidence of how the nexus of internal and external ethical orientations is handled, emphasizing the distinctive traits of family businesses. We found that employee-centeredness nurtured organizational inclusiveness and fostered people-centeredness. Interestingly, the family businesses’ concern for territorial development curbed the positive implications of employee-centeredness on people-centeredness. The study results extend scholarly knowledge, shedding light on a ‘grey’ side of family businesses’ ethics.

Lafleur, Clarisse; Hasso, Tim; Barbera, Francesco

doi: 10.1007/s10551-025-05937-7pmid: N/A

We explore how power and justice dynamics influence whistleblowing behaviour in family firms, focusing on the under-explored construct of connection power. Power and justice are two important, interrelated forces strongly affecting moral behaviour. We hypothesise a moderated moderation model and use a 2 × 2x2 between-subject experiment with 331 participants to test our conceptual model. We find that the family relation (i.e., connection power) of the wrongdoer changes what we know about the relationship between the legitimate power of the observer and whistleblowing likelihood, and that, in some instances, observers with high legitimate power are even less likely to blow the whistle than those with low legitimate power. Our exploration further reveals that, although the family relation of the wrongdoer discourages would-be whistleblowers, even those with legitimate power, organisational justice consistently increases the likelihood of whistleblowing in every case.

Chin, Tachia; Singh, Sanjay Kumar; Wu, Liang; Lamprinakos, Grigorios

doi: 10.1007/s10551-025-05940-ypmid: N/A

Given the widespread use of social media, growing interest has been paid to the nexus of corporate ethics and the celebrity status of chief executive officers (CEOs). This is of even more paramount importance in family-owned firms that are very sensitive to public image and its ethical relevance. However, no empirical evidence has been found. In response, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanisms through which family business ethics and CEO celebrity are associated, as well as the moderating influence of a leader's personal traits on these relationships. According to secondary data from listed Chinese family firms, from 2013 to 2020, the celebrity status of CEOs was strongly connected with the ethical behavior of organizations; however, this link was mitigated by the heterogeneity of CEOs. The firm's ethical behavior and the CEO's celebrity are positively correlated when the CEO is a family member; when the CEO is not a family member, the correlation is inversely U-shaped. Furthermore, the age, dualities (including the chairman role), and tenure of CEOs had a major impact on the mechanisms of CEO fame and family business ethics. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed in detail.

Nyffenegger, Bettina; Madison, Kristen; Lude, Maximilian; Prügl, Reinhard; Hack, Andreas

doi: 10.1007/s10551-025-05938-6pmid: N/A

Research indicates that family firms often engender a sense of trustworthiness among stakeholders. However, little is known as to whether this trustworthiness is beneficial or detrimental to family firms in the face of an ethical scandal. Ethical transgressions can profoundly undermine stakeholders’ perceptions of a firm’s integrity and benevolence. Our research examines how stakeholders perceive and react to ethical transgressions committed by family firms, as compared to those committed by non-family firms. Drawing upon expectancy violations theory and social identity theory, we theorize that while family firms inherently enjoy a higher degree of trustworthiness, they suffer significantly more in the aftermath of an ethical transgression. Two scenario-based experimental studies support our theorizing, demonstrating that family firms experience a steeper decline in trustworthiness following an ethical transgression than do non-family firms. We uncover the psychological processes behind this finding, revealing that this vulnerability is attributed to heightened stakeholder expectations and pronounced identification with family firms. We empirically show that expectancy violations primarily diminish integrity perceptions, while identity threats degrade benevolence perceptions of family firms. This research broadens the understanding of ethics in family firms, highlighting how their initially perceived trustworthiness may become a double-edged sword during ethical crises.

Cirillo, Alessandro; Manzi, Maria Angela; Bauweraerts, Jonathan; Sciascia, Salvatore

doi: 10.1007/s10551-025-05941-xpmid: N/A

Exploring the intricacies of heterogeneity in tax avoidance practices within family firms, a growing trend acknowledges the significant role of chief executive officers (CEOs) in setting the ethical tone and shaping corporate tax strategies. However, these studies often overlook the influence of the CEO’s transgenerational orientation, which becomes crucial when assessing ethics in family businesses. Therefore, the paper aims to analyse to what extent the CEO’s transgenerational responsibility (the moral obligation that incumbent leaders have vis-à-vis next generation family members) affects tax avoidance with a utilitarianism lens. Relying on a sample of 272 firm-year observations of Italian listed family companies along the period 2014–2018, the panel regression model finds a positive relationship. Moreover, the involvement in the business of the next generation of family members strengthens this relationship, suggesting that the immediate proximity with other relatives fosters the conversion of the CEO’s transgenerational responsibility into tax avoidance practices. Finally, when the family firm is in financial distress, CEOs with greater transgenerational responsibility tend to avoid more taxes.

Chaudhary, Sanjay; Dhir, Amandeep; Nguyen, Duc Khuong; Battisti, Enrico; Kaur, Puneet

doi: 10.1007/s10551-025-05947-5pmid: N/A

One key element distinguishing family firms from non-family firms is the role of the family’s religious beliefs, with growing attention on understanding the fit between religion and family in shaping a business’s ethical conduct. A family firm’s behavior is embedded in an institutional context, and it is important to understand how multiple institutional logic shapes a family firm’s values and ethical behavior. While scholars agree on the central significance of family values and religion in shaping family firms’ values and ethical behavior, a definitive consensus on the influence of family values and religion in confronting ethical challenges and shaping ethical behavior has yet to be reached. We lack a theory explaining how family, family business, and religion shape a family firm’s ethical conduct. We conducted a qualitative study to investigate the role of family values and religion in shaping a family firm’s ethical conduct. The results reveal four themes, namely (a) ethical challenges faced by family firms, (b) family values shaping ethical behavior, (c) religion providing a rationale for family firms’ ethical decision-making, and (d) outcomes of ethical decision-making. The principal contribution of our study is clarifying the role of multiple institutional logics in the form of religion and family in explaining ethical behavior. Our findings suggest that the fit between religion, family, and business as an institution guides decision-making, helps family businesses earn a positive reputation in the community by displaying ethical behavior, and develops a positive workplace climate.

Gómez-Mejía, Luis R.; Muñoz-Bullón, Fernando; Requejo, Ignacio; Sanchez-Bueno, Maria J.

doi: 10.1007/s10551-025-05943-9pmid: N/A

We examine and test the environmental performance of family firms across 22 European countries and find that they exhibit better environmental performance than nonfamily firms. This result confirms prior research conducted in the United States. More specifically, we conclude that family firms engage in more substantive environmental actions than nonfamily firms. Furthermore, we hypothesize and confirm that family firms do not pay a financial price for lower emissions, which should facilitate the voluntary, non-instrumental adoption of pollution control practices. Finally, we also find that the relationship between substantive environmental activities and financial returns is stronger among family firms that have family members on the board and are under the influence of the first generation.

Kastanakis, Minas N.; Magrizos, Solon; Kampouri, Katerina; Calabrò, Andrea

doi: 10.1007/s10551-025-05945-7pmid: N/A

The goal of this study is to reveal which contextual factors can shape ethical behaviour and decision-making in family firms (FFs), with the aim to uncover emerging themes that help set the stage for future work on FF ethics. To do so, we conducted an integrative literature review. By systematically collecting, reviewing 90 studies and synthesizing their key findings with prior theoretical foundations in the FF field, we demonstrate how personal and family values, preservation of socioemotional wealth, generation succession and structural factors (e.g. FF size, FF life cycle) can affect ethical decision-making in FFs. We also provide propositions and research pathways to orient future studies.