Women behind the Scenes in Family Businesses

Abstract

The success of family businesses is largely due to a circular relationship in which three intangible factors enhance each other: love for the family business, trust among different business factors, and freedom of behaviour for family members (Gallo et al., 2001). These values are the cornerstone on which family members base their commitment to the business. But how can family members of advanced generations, especially those who are not active in the business, become more committed to the success of the family business? And are there gender-specific roles, as the literature on this subject seems to indicate? The research outlined in this document seeks to enlarge the current pool of knowledge, offering the results of a study involving 98 Spanish family businesses, in which a total of 200 non-active family members responded to a questionnaire about their relationship with the family business and their associated relatives. The main results confirm the existing literature by revealing that women are expected to play certain roles such as managing the household and child-rearing. Even though these roles are not clearly defined, women perceive numerous obstacles when attempting to assume roles beyond the domestic sphere. Nevertheless, our results confirm that, regardless of the degree of women’s direct participation in the family business, their strong commitment towards the business as well as their other qualities can permeate the family relationship to the point of affecting the business performance by influencing the entrepreneur’s motivation and businessrelated decisions. Through her passion for the family she provides the business with a powerful asset: the strong “family glue”.