论家族企业的定义

对家族企业的准确界定直接决定了这一领域研究的连续性和可继承性。不同的学者从家族参与度与CEO认知、家族所有权、家族管理控制权、代际权杖交接、多重条件限制、意向和愿景等角度提出了众多的定义,然而,它们都不能严格地将家族企业和非家族企业区分开来。本文将家族企业定义为家庭契约连结的企业组织,与此对应的非家族企业则是通过交易契约连结。家庭契约是一种强信任的、长期的和“连续性公平”的合意,而交易契约则是一种理性算计的、短期的和“竞争性公平”的契约。正是不同的契约性质导致了家族与企业非家族企业在管理行为和生产率上的不同表现。

The Definition of Family Business

The definitional efforts of family business focused on family involvement, family ownership, family management, inter-generational ownership transition, multiple conditions, family intention etc., but all these criterions can not divide the family business from non-family business. In this paper, we review these definitional literatures systematically, then, use the contract theory of firm and define the family business as an organization connected by the family contract. The characteristic of family contract is strong trust, long-term and continuous fair, while transaction contract is a rational considered, short-term and competitive fair. The different management behavior and efficiency between the family business and non-family business are just because of the different nature of the contract.