The definitional dilemma in family business research: outlines of an ongoing debate

Family business research has been considered as a distinct field from mainstream research. It has been pointed out the lack of a shared theory able to provide a strong conceptual framework, originating following limitations for empirical research. Various definitions of family business have been employed, limiting comparisons and generalisations of findings across studies. Therefore, the first concern researchers need to deal with is the definition of family business, for overcoming a basic limitation of the field of research. This paper aims to highlight, by a literature review, how recent perspectives may represent useful contributions towards theory building and empirical research. Although some uncertainties still remain in terms of trade-off between objective and subjective characteristics, they suggest new directions to address studies for overcoming the definitional dilemma.