153
Copyright © 2016, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Chapter 9
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-9652-5.ch009
ABSTRACT
Family businesses are formed and often transferred to new generations in order to achieve both fnancial
and non-fnancial desired performances. Socioemotional wealth, such as a family’s desire to exercise
authority, and enjoyment of family infuence, is an important driver of non-fnancial desires. Family busi-
ness owners take into account socioemotional gains or losses for the family when considering the relative
risks and benefts of various strategic choices. Culture, human capital, and social capital are some of the
variables that infuence decisions regarding socioemotional gains and losses. Entrepreneurship is also
favorable for any economy and the interconnectivity of family businesses and entrepreneurship is of a
great importance. To study the efect of the mentioned variables we have studied family business in Iran,
a family oriented country with a strong cultural consistency which in many cases infuences businesses.
This study aims to analyze how culture, human capital, and social capital afect the preservation and
development of socioemotional wealth in families and how they afect the frm’s performance.
INTRODUCTION
The academic studies of family businesses and entrepreneurship and their praxes are interconnected and
a high percentage of entrepreneurs found their businesses in the form of family firms. For many more,
families are an important source of resources, especially human capital, (Aldrich & Cliff, 2003). Family
business and entrepreneurship appear to be associated in several forms such as: entrepreneurial stages
A Study on the Effect of Culture
and Human and Social Capital
on Entrepreneurial Strategies
in Family Businesses in Iran
Hossein Moghaddam
University of Pisa, Italy
Meir Russ
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, USA