Family Entrepreneurship ─ Rethinking the research agenda

Family business is the most widely found form of business organization, and its importance to the global economy cannot be over-estimated. Until recently, the impact of the family on entrepreneurial firms has been under-researched, leading to a conceptual gap between the two areas of study and an underestimation of the contribution of family systems to entrepreneurial success.

Starting from the consideration that family is an intimate and essential aspect of entrepreneurship, this book considers connections between: family, family members, entrepreneurial behavior, family business, society and the economy. Bringing together a unique range of international contributions, it offers new theoretical perspectives and empirical insights as well as an in-depth consideration of the diversity of contexts and processes associated with entrepreneurship in family settings. Above all, it opens up a comprehensive research agenda on the linkages between family, family firms and entrepreneurship and will be of interest to researchers, educators and advanced students of entrepreneurship, small firms and family business.

Alain Fayolle is Professor of Entrepreneurship, and the founder and director of the entrepreneurship research centre at EM Lyon Business School, France. He has published over twenty books and over hundred articles in leading international and French-speaking scientific journals. He is an Associate Editor of JSBM and the Editor of Revue de l’Entrepreneuriat and Entreprendre & Innover, two leading French-speaking journals in entrepreneurship. He has been recently elected to the ICSB (International Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship) Board of Directors as Director-At-Large for the year 2013-2014. He has also been elected as a member of the Executive Board of the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management and will become the Chair of the Entrepreneurship Division in 2015-2016.

Cristina Bettinelli is Assistant Professor at the University of Bergamo (Italy) where she is a member of the research staff of the Entrepreneurial Laboratory (E-Lab) Research Center. She received her PhD from the University of Bergamo and did part of her graduate studies at Harvard University. Recently she received the Family Business Review "best paper" award. She is currently the Coordinator of the ECSB special interest group dedicated to Entrepreneurship Education.

Giovann Dossena is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management, University of Bergamo, Italy. She is the Director of ELab - Center for Research on Entrepreneurship - active in the field of entrepreneurial training and research studies. Her research interests involve entrepreneurial intentions, entrepreneurial investments, and the interface between governance and competition.

Kathleen Randerson, is affiliate professor of entrepreneurship and strategic management at Universite de Grenobles Alpes and visiting Professor at the University of Bergamo where she is the Director of ELab - Center for Research on Entrepreneurship.