Title: Theoretical Foundations of Family Business Research: Present Debate and Future Directions

Abstract:

Theoretical Foundations of Family Business Research: Present Debate and Future Directions

Family business, as the most popular business form, dominates the world economy (Astrachan and Shanker, 2003). Due to the key role and uniqueness of family firms, an important growth of family business research has been recorded over the past three decades.  The research purpose is to analyze the current state of theory in family business research and discuss its implications from the perspective of a literature review focused on the theoretical dimensions of family firm investigation. The importance of this research relates to the need of developing mainstream entrepreneurship and business theories in general that apply to family businesses (Christman, Chua, and Steier, 2003). The study proposes possible directions for future research toward a better understanding of family firm as a global phenomenon.

Biography:

Dr. Sandu's scholarly interests are in the areas of family business and entrepreneurship, with a special focus on family business professionalization, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and family business succession. His research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and his work on family business professionalization was featured in Forbes.

Dr. Sandu was a visiting professor at the University of Jaen, Spain in 2013 and 2020 during his sabbaticals. He was also a visiting professor at the Bader International Centre, Herstmonceux Castle, U.K. (a campus of Queen's University, Canada) in 2009 and 2010. Dr. Sandu teaches courses in Entrepreneurship, Family Business, and Corporate Strategy. He participated in various programs in Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Denmark, Iceland, U.K., France, Italy, and Luxembourg. Dr. Sandu served as Dean and Associate Dean of the School of Economics Sciences and Public Affairs at "Stefan cel Mare" University of Suceava in Romania and founded a family business. He joined Elizabethtown College in 2003.