SEW refers to the stock of affect-related values that an owning family derives from its family business. As a promising theoretical concept, the SEW has been used widely to explain the diverse strategic choices of family firms compared to non-family firms. However, little study has been done to measure SEW directly and to measure the effect of SEW on family firms’ strategic choices.     Within the context of family-owned Hidden Champions, this thesis study replicates the five-dimension model proposed by Berrone et al. in an empirical study to verify the psychometric measurement on the degree of SEW. Furthermore, internationalization has been chosen as an example to demonstrate the effects of SEW on family firms’ strategic choices and outcomes.   This study has verified the reliability and validity of the SEW scale and SEW’s five subscales constructed. Furthermore, the measurement on SEW and its five dimensions has been applied to examine the effects of SEW and its five dimensions on the internationalization of family firms. The findings reveal that SEW has a negative effect on the internationalization of family firms, which is mainly due to the negative effect of Family Control and Influence.

Problematization: Family firms in Sweden play a vital role in the labor force, reflecting their extensive presence and essential role in the economy. Central to every family firm are its guiding values, shared among family members engaged in its activities. Driven by a commitment to their local communities and a sense of social responsibility, family firms actively pursue social initiatives. However, there is a recognized imperative for additional research to investigate micro-level aspects and enhance the comprehension of the Socioemotional Wealth (SEW) model. Purpose: The research aims to establish a conceptual framework for investigation of the interconnection between family firms and social initiatives. The primary objective is to explore how family values are embedded in the decision-making process concerning social initiatives within the local community. Method: An exploratory multiple case study design was employed, utilizing a qualitative approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with family members actively involved in the decision-making process regarding social initiatives and their subsequent implementation. Main results: Family values guide decisions related to social initiatives within family firms, driven by centralized ownership, while the business values of firms are influenced by the values upheld by family owners. Consequently, the decision-making process is influenced by the personal interests of family members, hence the essence of fostering community togetherness. The findings underscored an informal decision-making process across various industries,wherein decisions are guided by the personal interests of family members in pursuing social initiatives within the local community.

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os condicionantes das decisões de investimento das empresas familiares. Para tanto, utilizou-se de um referencial teórico baseado em conceitos como estrutura de propriedade e controle familiar, heterogeneidade das empresas familiares, choques exógenos causados por crises econômicas e situação de restrição financeira. Esses conceitos foram empregues com o propósito de dimensionar seus impactos nas decisões de investimento das empresas familiares listadas em bolsa nos períodos entre 2006-2016. Em termos teóricos, os investimentos foram separados em dois tipos: investimentos em CAPEX e capital circulante líquido. Embora nem todos tenham sido utilizados em todas as fases da pesquisa, esses dois tipos de investimento foram o cerne e a variável dependente da pesquisa. Outras variáveis importantes foram Empresa Familiar, bem como suas outras sete configurações, e as variáveis de interação como idade, grau de maturidade, tamanho, tangibilidade e situação financeira. Outro ponto considerado pela pesquisa foi o impacto do cenário macroeconômico sobre as decisões de investimento. Os resultados encontrados mostraram que as empresas familiares investem menos do que as empresas não familiares em CAPEX, ocorrendo o inverso para o capital circulante líquido. Isso corrobora com as análises teóricas promovidas por Anderson, Duru e Reeb (2012) e Chrisman e Patel (2012) sobre os ideais de autopreservação e aversão ao risco aos quais as empresas familiares estão sujeitas. Quanto aos períodos de choques de liquidez, as empresas familiares apresentaram quedas severas para investimentos em CAPEX e quedas menos acentuadas para o capital circulante líquido. Por fim, em relação à situação de restrição financeira e os resultados financeiros passados evidenciou-se que empresas familiares com maior tangibilidade e com resultados passados positivos investem mais do que as empresas não familiares, o que também está de acordo com a teoria sobre autoconfiança e busca pela perenidade em empresas de controle familiar. / The objective of this study was to answer the following research problem: what are the determinants of the investment decisions of family companies? To do so, the research used a theoretical framework based on concepts such as family ownership and control, the heterogeneity found in the various types of family businesses, exogenous shocks caused by economic crises and the situation of financial constraint of the companies. These concepts were used to understand how each of them impacted the investment decisions of listed companies in the period between 2006-2016. In conceptual terms, the investments were divided into two types: investments in CAPEX and working capital ratios. Although not all were used at all stages of the research, these three types of investment were at the heart and the research-dependent variable. In addition to this variable, other important variables were both the Family Enterprise variable (as well as its other seven configurations) and the variables of interaction with age, maturity level, size, tangibility and financial situation. Another point considered by the research consisted in analyzing how the macroeconomic scenario impacted investment decisions. The results found that family firms invest less than non-family firms (in all configurations) in CAPEX. However, the opposite occurs for the working capital ratios. This corroborates theoretical analyzes promoted by Anderson, Duru and Reeb (2012) and Chrisman and Patel (2012) on the ideals of self-preservation and risk aversion to which family firms are subject to making decisions involving risks and uncertainties. Comparing the results in periods of liquidity shocks, the results of the family companies showed severe declines for investments in CAPEX and less declines in working capital index. Finally, the results found when considering the situation of financial constraint and the past results provided that family companies with greater tangibility and with positive past results invest more than non-family companies, which is also in accordance with the theory on self-preservation and search for perpetuity in family businesses.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is widely discussed in the business community in terms of its effectiveness. However, studies of factors that can affect CSR are not so many. The purpose of this study is to evaluate of the impact of ownership structure on Environmental and Social performance. This study was conducted on the example of 174 cases among Swedish companies, listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, Environmental and Social performance, which was represented by the largest information provider Thomson Reuters. Using the experience of previous studies, a model of relationship between ownership structure and Environmental and Social performance was founded and a multiple regression analysis was performed. The most significant result of the study, confirmed by previous empirical studies and theoretical literature, is the existence of a relationship between capital structure and CSR performance. Foreign investors, who came to the Swedish market, have a stable positive connection with performance. This form of ownership, like majority control, did not find sufficient evidence to the impact on Environmental and Social performance in this study. The Minority control and Joint Minority and Management control showed no influence on performance in Swedish companies.

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os condicionantes das decisões de investimento das empresas familiares. Para tanto, utilizou-se de um referencial teórico baseado em conceitos como estrutura de propriedade e controle familiar, heterogeneidade das empresas familiares, choques exógenos causados por crises econômicas e situação de restrição financeira. Esses conceitos foram empregues com o propósito de dimensionar seus impactos nas decisões de investimento das empresas familiares listadas em bolsa nos períodos entre 2006-2016. Em termos teóricos, os investimentos foram separados em dois tipos: investimentos em CAPEX e capital circulante líquido. Embora nem todos tenham sido utilizados em todas as fases da pesquisa, esses dois tipos de investimento foram o cerne e a variável dependente da pesquisa. Outras variáveis importantes foram Empresa Familiar, bem como suas outras sete configurações, e as variáveis de interação como idade, grau de maturidade, tamanho, tangibilidade e situação financeira. Outro ponto considerado pela pesquisa foi o impacto do cenário macroeconômico sobre as decisões de investimento. Os resultados encontrados mostraram que as empresas familiares investem menos do que as empresas não familiares em CAPEX, ocorrendo o inverso para o capital circulante líquido. Isso corrobora com as análises teóricas promovidas por Anderson, Duru e Reeb (2012) e Chrisman e Patel (2012) sobre os ideais de autopreservação e aversão ao risco aos quais as empresas familiares estão sujeitas. Quanto aos períodos de choques de liquidez, as empresas familiares apresentaram quedas severas para investimentos em CAPEX e quedas menos acentuadas para o capital circulante líquido. Por fim, em relação à situação de restrição financeira e os resultados financeiros passados evidenciou-se que empresas familiares com maior tangibilidade e com resultados passados positivos investem mais do que as empresas não familiares, o que também está de acordo com a teoria sobre autoconfiança e busca pela perenidade em empresas de controle familiar. / The objective of this study was to answer the following research problem: what are the determinants of the investment decisions of family companies? To do so, the research used a theoretical framework based on concepts such as family ownership and control, the heterogeneity found in the various types of family businesses, exogenous shocks caused by economic crises and the situation of financial constraint of the companies. These concepts were used to understand how each of them impacted the investment decisions of listed companies in the period between 2006-2016. In conceptual terms, the investments were divided into two types: investments in CAPEX and working capital ratios. Although not all were used at all stages of the research, these three types of investment were at the heart and the research-dependent variable. In addition to this variable, other important variables were both the Family Enterprise variable (as well as its other seven configurations) and the variables of interaction with age, maturity level, size, tangibility and financial situation. Another point considered by the research consisted in analyzing how the macroeconomic scenario impacted investment decisions. The results found that family firms invest less than non-family firms (in all configurations) in CAPEX. However, the opposite occurs for the working capital ratios. This corroborates theoretical analyzes promoted by Anderson, Duru and Reeb (2012) and Chrisman and Patel (2012) on the ideals of self-preservation and risk aversion to which family firms are subject to making decisions involving risks and uncertainties. Comparing the results in periods of liquidity shocks, the results of the family companies showed severe declines for investments in CAPEX and less declines in working capital index. Finally, the results found when considering the situation of financial constraint and the past results provided that family companies with greater tangibility and with positive past results invest more than non-family companies, which is also in accordance with the theory on self-preservation and search for perpetuity in family businesses.