IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/fambus/v14y2023i1s1877858522000195.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of trust in family business stakeholder relationships: A systematic literature review

Author

Listed:
  • Deferne, Marie
  • Bertschi-Michel, Alexandra
  • de Groote, Julia

Abstract

An increasing number of studies emphasize the importance of trust between family businesses and their stakeholders. Surprisingly, family business research still lacks a comprehensive understanding of the role of trust in stakeholder relationships; whereas another field—that of organizational behavior—has examined trust-building in depth. Thus, in order to identify specific research gaps and to determine future research directions, we systematically review the literature on trust in the field of family business, as well as in organizational behavior research. Both streams pursue different, hence complementary, approaches in terms of the type of trusting stakeholders, theory building, nomological network (antecedents, components and consequences of trust), level of analysis and type of trust. Whilst family business research maintains a focus on the consequences of trust, organizational behavior focuses rather on its components. We formulate a set of propositions and future research questions as to how insights from organizational behavior research can help to fill existing research gaps and advance our understanding of trust in the management of family business stakeholder relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • Deferne, Marie & Bertschi-Michel, Alexandra & de Groote, Julia, 2023. "The role of trust in family business stakeholder relationships: A systematic literature review," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:fambus:v:14:y:2023:i:1:s1877858522000195
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfbs.2022.100501
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877858522000195
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jfbs.2022.100501?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hayward, Mathew & Hunt, Richard & Miller, Danny, 2022. "How vulnerability enriches family firm relationships: A social exchange perspective," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(1).
    2. Mahabubur Rahman & Saqib Aziz & Mathew Hughes, 2020. "The product‐market performance benefits of environmental policy: Why customer awareness and firm innovativeness matter," Post-Print hal-03004777, HAL.
    3. Maximilian Lude & Reinhard Prügl, 2019. "Risky Decisions and the Family Firm Bias: An Experimental Study Based on Prospect Theory," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(2), pages 386-408, March.
    4. M. Ruiz Jiménez & Manuel Vallejo Martos & Rocío Martínez Jiménez, 2015. "Organisational Harmony as a Value in Family Businesses and Its Influence on Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 259-272, January.
    5. Michelle Greenwood & Harry Buren III, 2010. "Trust and Stakeholder Theory: Trustworthiness in the Organisation–Stakeholder Relationship," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(3), pages 425-438, September.
    6. Gómez-Mejía, Luis R. & Herrero, Inés, 2022. "Back to square one: The measurement of Socioemotional Wealth (SEW)," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(4).
    7. Cisneros, Luis & Deschamps, Bérangère & Chirita, Gabriel M. & Geindre, Sébastien, 2022. "Successful family firm succession: Transferring external social capital to a shared-leadership team of siblings," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3).
    8. Pramodita Sharma & James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Lloyd P. Steier, 2020. "Family Firm Behavior From a Psychological Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(1), pages 3-19, January.
    9. Stanley, Laura J. & McDowell, William, 2014. "The role of interorganizational trust and organizational efficacy in family and nonfamily firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 264-275.
    10. Jean‐Luc Arregle & Michael A. Hitt & David G. Sirmon & Philippe Very, 2007. "The Development of Organizational Social Capital: Attributes of Family Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 73-95, January.
    11. Jon C. Carr & Michael S. Cole & J. Kirk Ring & Daniela P. Blettner, 2011. "A Measure of Variations in Internal Social Capital among Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(6), pages 1207-1227, November.
    12. Jean-Luc Arrègle & Michael Hitt & David Sirmon & Philippe Véry, 2007. "The Development of Organizational Social Capital : Attributes of Family Firms," Post-Print hal-02312687, HAL.
    13. Smith, Donna & Hair, Joseph F. & Ferguson, Keith, 2014. "An investigation of the effect of family influence on Commitment–Trust in retailer–vendor strategic partnerships," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 252-263.
    14. Binz, Claudia & Hair, Joseph F. & Pieper, Torsten M. & Baldauf, Artur, 2013. "Exploring the effect of distinct family firm reputation on consumers’ preferences," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 3-11.
    15. Michel, Alexandra & Kammerlander, Nadine, 2015. "Trusted advisors in a family business's succession-planning process—An agency perspective," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 45-57.
    16. Gerken, Maike & Hülsbeck, Marcel & Ostermann, Thomas & Hack, Andreas, 2022. "Validating the FIBER scale to measure family firm heterogeneity – A replication study with extensions," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(4).
    17. Schickinger, Antonia & Leitterstorf, Max P. & Kammerlander, Nadine, 2018. "Private equity and family firms: A systematic review and categorization of the field," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 268-292.
    18. Allen, Mathew R. & George, Bradley A. & Davis, James H., 2018. "A model for the role of trust in firm level performance: The case of family businesses," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 34-45.
    19. Pittino, Daniel & Visintin, Francesca, 2011. "The propensity toward inter-organizational cooperation in small- and medium-sized family businesses," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 57-68, June.
    20. Carbone, Emmadonata & Cirillo, Alessandro & Saggese, Sara & Sarto, Fabrizia, 2022. "IPO in family business: A systematic review and directions for future research," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(1).
    21. Heino, Noora & Tuominen, Pasi & Jussila, Iiro, 2020. "Listed Family Firm Stakeholder Orientations: The Critical Role of Value-creating Family Factors," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(4).
    22. Michael Pirson & Deepak Malhotra, 2011. "Foundations of Organizational Trust: What Matters to Different Stakeholders?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(4), pages 1087-1104, August.
    23. James H. Davis & Mathew R. Allen & H. David Hayes, 2010. "Is Blood Thicker Than Water? A Study of Stewardship Perceptions in Family Business," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(6), pages 1093-1116, November.
    24. Kähkönen, T. & Blomqvist, K. & Gillespie, N. & Vanhala, M., 2021. "Employee trust repair: A systematic review of 20 years of empirical research and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 98-109.
    25. Herrero, Inés & Hughes, Mathew, 2019. "When family social capital is too much of a good thing," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 1-1.
    26. Alexandra Bertschi-Michel & Nadine Kammerlander & Vanessa M. Strike, 2020. "Unearthing and Alleviating Emotions in Family Business Successions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(1), pages 81-108, January.
    27. Thomas M. Zellweger & James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Lloyd P. Steier, 2019. "Social Structures, Social Relationships, and Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(2), pages 207-223, March.
    28. Kudlats, Jerry & McDowell, William C. & Mahto, Raj V., 2019. "Unrelated but together: Trust and intergroup relations in multi-family businesses," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 750-756.
    29. Cesinger, Beate & Hughes, Mathew & Mensching, Helge & Bouncken, Ricarda & Fredrich, Viktor & Kraus, Sascha, 2016. "A socioemotional wealth perspective on how collaboration intensity, trust, and international market knowledge affect family firms’ multinationality," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 586-599.
    30. Kimberly A. Eddleston & James J. Chrisman & Lloyd P. Steier & Jess H. Chua, 2010. "Governance and Trust in Family Firms: An Introduction," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(6), pages 1043-1056, November.
    31. Orth, Ulrich R. & Green, Mark T., 2009. "Consumer loyalty to family versus non-family business: The roles of store image, trust and satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 248-259.
    32. Smith, Celina & Nordqvist, Mattias & De Massis, Alfredo & Miller, Danny, 2021. "When so much is at stake: Understanding organizational brinkmanship in family business," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(4).
    33. Andrea Calabrò & Marina Brogi & Mariateresa Torchia, 2016. "What Does Really Matter in the Internationalization of Small and Medium‐Sized Family Businesses?," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(2), pages 679-696, April.
    34. González-Pereira, Borja & Guerrero-Bote, Vicente P. & Moya-Anegón, Félix, 2010. "A new approach to the metric of journals’ scientific prestige: The SJR indicator," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 379-391.
    35. Yu, Alisa & Berg, Justin M. & Zlatev, Julian J., 2021. "Emotional acknowledgment: How verbalizing others’ emotions fosters interpersonal trust," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 116-135.
    36. Cater, John James & Kidwell, Roland E., 2014. "Function, governance, and trust in successor leadership groups in family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 217-228.
    37. Neubaum, Donald O. & Dibrell, Clay & Craig, Justin B., 2012. "Balancing natural environmental concerns of internal and external stakeholders in family and non-family businesses," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 3(1), pages 28-37.
    38. Josh Wei-Jun Hsueh, 2018. "Governance Structure and the Credibility Gap: Experimental Evidence on Family Businesses’ Sustainability Reporting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 547-568, December.
    39. Mahabubur Rahman & Saqib Aziz & Mathew Hughes, 2020. "The product‐market performance benefits of environmental policy: Why customer awareness and firm innovativeness matter," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 2001-2018, July.
    40. Rebecca G. Long, 2011. "Commentary: Social Exchange in Building, Modeling, and Managing Family Social Capital," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(6), pages 1229-1234, November.
    41. Wei‐ping Wu, 2008. "Dimensions of Social Capital and Firm Competitiveness Improvement: The Mediating Role of Information Sharing," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 122-146, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cristina Bettinelli & Marco Mismetti & Alfredo De Massis & Barbara Del Bosco, 2022. "A Review of Conflict and Cohesion in Social Relationships in Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 539-577, May.
    2. Maarten B.T. de Groot & Oli R. Mihalache & Tom Elfring, 2022. "Toward a Theory of Family Social Capital in Wealthy Transgenerational Enterprise Families," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(1), pages 159-192, January.
    3. Stutz, Adrian & Schell, Sabrina & Hack, Andreas, 2022. "In family firms we trust – Experimental evidence on the credibility of sustainability reporting: A replication study with extension," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(4).
    4. Herrero, Inés & Hughes, Mathew & Larrañeta, Bárbara, 2022. "Is blood thicker than water? Exploring the impact of family firms’ familial social relations with other firms within their industries," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3).
    5. James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Lloyd P. Steier, 2011. "Resilience of Family Firms: An Introduction," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(6), pages 1107-1119, November.
    6. Pötschke, Ivonne, 2020. "A Felt Truth: Value Congruence in Family Firms," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 31(3), pages 281-308.
    7. Chaudhary, Sanjay & Dhir, Amandeep & Ferraris, Alberto & Bertoldi, Bernando, 2021. "Trust and reputation in family businesses: A systematic literature review of past achievements and future promises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 143-161.
    8. Herrero, Inés & Hughes, Mathew, 2019. "When family social capital is too much of a good thing," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 1-1.
    9. Kyuho Jin & Joowon Lee & Sung Min Hong, 2021. "The Dark Side of Managing for the Long Run: Examining When Family Firms Create Value," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-20, March.
    10. Kandade, Kiran & Samara, Georges & Parada, Maria José & Dawson, Alexandra, 2021. "From family successors to successful business leaders: A qualitative study of how high-quality relationships develop in family businesses," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(2).
    11. Datta, Subhadeep & Mukherjee, Sourjo, 2022. "In families we trust: Family firm branding and consumer’s reaction to product harm crisis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 257-268.
    12. Fynn-Willem Lohe & Andrea Calabrò & Mariateresa Torchia, 2021. "Disentangling the drivers of family firms internationalization through the lens of socioemotional wealth," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 479-509, December.
    13. Rajan, Bharath & Salunkhe, Uday & Kumar, V., 2023. "Understanding customer engagement in family firms: A conceptual framework," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    14. Ismael Barros-Contreras & Héctor Pérez-Fernández & Natalia Martín-Cruz & Juan Hernangómez B., 2023. "Can we make family social capital flourish? The moderating role of generational involvement," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 655-673, September.
    15. Daspit, Joshua J. & Long, Rebecca G. & Pearson, Allison W., 2019. "How familiness affects innovation outcomes via absorptive capacity: A dynamic capability perspective of the family firm," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 133-143.
    16. Azizi, Mohammad & Salmani Bidgoli, Masoud & Maley, Jane F. & Dabić, Marina, 2022. "A stewardship perspective in family firms: A new perspective for altruism and social capital," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 764-775.
    17. Allan Discua Cruz & Carole Howorth & Eleanor Hamilton, 2013. "Intrafamily Entrepreneurship: The Formation and Membership of Family Entrepreneurial Teams," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(1), pages 17-46, January.
    18. Mazzi, Chiara, 2011. "Family business and financial performance: Current state of knowledge and future research challenges," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 166-181.
    19. Martina Sageder & Christine Mitter & Birgit Feldbauer‐Durstmüller, 2018. "Image and reputation of family firms: a systematic literature review of the state of research," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 335-377, January.
    20. Bargoni, Augusto & Alon, Ilan & Ferraris, Alberto, 2023. "A systematic review of family business and consumer behaviour," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:fambus:v:14:y:2023:i:1:s1877858522000195. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/719791/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.