This study focuses on the hiring of nonfamily employees in family firms. Research to date has emphasized the challenges family firms confront in attracting and selecting quality nonfamily human capital. This literature has emphasized the limitations these firms face due to the information asymmetries common to the hiring process. However, this research has not considered the advantages available to family firms through their social network. Drawing on agency theory, I hypothesize that owner referral utilization mediates the relationship between family essence and firm performance because their use lessens the agency conflicts between owners and nonfamily members. Utilizing a sample of 194 family owners, my analysis shows that the utilization of owner referrals mediates the relationship between family essence and firm performance.

There are a broad range of businesses available in the modern economy we live in. Family businesses can simply be explained as a business firm or company in which most of the employees that are present are family members. With the help of family businesses present in the global economy, many new startups are recognized and boosted with the help of family firms. Family businesses play a major role in the European economy where statistics show that nearly 55% of the total company’s present are family businesses. Hence the problem arises from the introduction of nonfamily members in the family business. Due to various reasons, many family firms are not able to keep their staff strictly consisting of family members. Then comes the question of hiring nonfamily members into a family business. Hence this research will help firstly with the overall understanding of family firms and secondly how these firms approach the recruiting process for nonfamily members for them to be a long-lasting team player. The sample chosen in this research belongs to Romania. I chose the country of Romania because of my own nationality and because of my desire to understand the Romanian economy better. Eight interviews were carried out with personnel from 3 different firms, 3 founders and 5 nonfamily members. For this research, data was collected through the case study method, a qualitative methodology. At the last part of the study, the findings are explained in such a way which give a complete idea about what strategies do family-workers implement to hire and retain nonfamily workers and the opinion of these regarding the subject as a part of their team.

Yes / Despite the growing research evidence on the effect of environmental sustainability orientation (ESO) on firm outcomes, contingent factors that may influence the strength of this relationship have received little scholarly attention. In this study, we use insights from the literature on ESO and family business to introduce family status and firm age as moderators in the ESO-performance linkage. Using time-lagged data from 253 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, we found the impact of ESO on firm performance is amplified for nonfamily firms but not significant for family firms. Our evidence suggests it is stronger among older firms than younger ones. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.