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The CEO autonomy–stewardship behavior relationship in family firms: The mediating role of psychological ownership

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  • Henssen, Bart
  • Voordeckers, Wim
  • Lambrechts, Frank
  • Koiranen, Matti

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between a family business CEO's autonomy and stewardship behavior. Building on psychological ownership theory, we argue that psychological ownership mediates the autonomy–stewardship relationship. In contrast to prior studies, we differentiate between individual-oriented and collective-oriented psychological ownership as two distinct dimensions of individual psychological ownership. Our results reveal that CEO autonomy is an important determinant of stewardship behavior and that this relationship is only mediated by individual-oriented psychological ownership. Moreover, both individual-oriented and collective-oriented psychological ownership are found to be antecedents of CEO stewardship behavior.

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  • Henssen, Bart & Voordeckers, Wim & Lambrechts, Frank & Koiranen, Matti, 2014. "The CEO autonomy–stewardship behavior relationship in family firms: The mediating role of psychological ownership," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 312-322.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:fambus:v:5:y:2014:i:3:p:312-322
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfbs.2014.01.012
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ben Akume & Osarumwense Iguisi, 2020. "Developing capabilities for sustainability in family owned SMEs: An emerging market scenario," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(6), pages 24-36, October.
    3. Karen Watkins Fassler, 2018. "Financial performance in Mexican family vs. non-family firms," Contaduría y Administración, Accounting and Management, vol. 63(2), pages 309-327, Abril-Jun.
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    5. Simon Torp & Bo Bernhard Nielsen, 2018. "Psychological ownership and financial firm performance: The interplay of employee stock ownership and participative leadership," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 43(3), pages 476-492, August.
    6. Yongjun Kang & Jian Peng & Qi Nie, 2023. "Peer Reaction to Manager Stewardship Behavior: Crediting or Stigmatizing the Behavior?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(2), pages 453-474, March.
    7. Cirillo, Alessandro & Romano, Mauro & Pennacchio, Luca, 2015. "All the power in two hands: The role of CEOs in family IPOs," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 392-406.
    8. Sund, Lars-Göran & Melin, Leif & Haag, Kajsa, 2015. "Intergenerational ownership succession," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 166-177.
    9. Usama Najam & Norizah Binti Mohd Mustamil, 2022. "Does Proactive Personality Moderate the Relationship Between Servant Leadership and Psychological Ownership and Resilience?," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, April.
    10. Rau, Sabine B. & Werner, Arndt & Schell, Sabrina, 2019. "Psychological ownership as a driving factor of innovation in older family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(4).
    11. Angela Carradus & Ricardo Zozimo & Allan Discua Cruz, 2020. "Exploring a Faith-Led Open-Systems Perspective of Stewardship in Family Businesses," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 701-714, May.
    12. Eddleston, Kimberly A. & Kellermanns, Franz W. & Collier, Gregory, 2019. "Research on family firm innovation: What do family firms actually think and do?," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(4).
    13. Fábio Frezatti & Diógenes de Souza Bido & Daniel Magalhães Mucci & Franciele Beck, 2022. "Essence taxonomy of Brazilian family businesses and conceptual implications for governance strategy," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(3), pages 813-849, September.
    14. Wolfgang Burr & Johann Valentowitsch & Christopher Sauerhoff, 2015. "Examining the Impact of Family Management on Patent Applications for German Industrial Firms," Eurasian Journal of Business and Management, Eurasian Publications, vol. 3(3), pages 1-11.
    15. Daniel Magalhães Mucci & Ann Jorissen & Fabio Frezatti & Diógenes de Souza Bido, 2021. "Managerial Controls in Private Family Firms: The Influence of a Family’s Decision Premises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.
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