Temporal Dimensions of Family Enterprise Research

What is time and why is it particularly relevant in studies of family business? Time is “a non-spatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from past through the present to the future” (Ancona, Okhuysen, & Perlow, 2001, p. 513). It “is such an obvious factor in social science that it is almost invisible” (Adam, 1990, p. 3). As the adage goes, “Time marches on”—no matter what. Therefore, time is a factor that underpins all organizational research, and the study of family business is no exception. To the contrary, we suggest that time may be even more important to consider in our field of research. The critical, yet commonly overlooked, role of time was actually present in the very first issue of Family Business Review (FBR). Several articles in that issue focused on transmitting culture, dynastic family wealth, and ownership over generations (Dyer, 1988; P. D. Hall, 1988; Weiser, Brody, & Quarrey, 1988). Another article directed attention to temporal issues within the same generation, such as the identity struggles of a later-born son or daughter who becomes head of the family business (Barnes, 1988). Thus, the seeds of temporal depth in the form of generations and timing as in birth order were planted in these foundational articles. Have these seeds of time and timing flourished or perished over the years? Perhaps, “quiet perseverance” is the appropriate descriptor. Recent reviews indicate that the “landscape” of the family business field is marked by variables focused both on the shortand long-term family and business dimensions (Yu, Lumpkin, Sorenson, & Brigham, 2012). Some scholars deepen our understanding of the ownership and leadership transitions across generations in private and publicly held family firms (Naldi, Cennamo, Corbetta, & Gómez-Mejia, 2013; Wiklund, Nordqvist, Hellerstedt, & Bird, 2013). Other studies help us understand the role of governance structures on family firm survival over time (Wilson, Wright, & Scholes, 2013). In addition, some family business research has been focused on specific phenomena over time such as career trajectories and development of family firm CEOs (Salvato, Minichilli, & Piccarreta, 2012), corporate branding strategies of the world’s oldest family firms (Micelotta & Raynard, 2011), entrepreneurial orientation of family firms over time (Zellweger & Sieger, 2012), exiting the founder’s business (Salvato, Chirico, & Sharma, 2010), and investment strategies (Zellweger, 2007). Time-related variables such as family firms’ long-term orientation (LTO; Le Breton-Miller & Miller, 2006; Lumpkin, Brigham, & Moss, 2010), organizational survival or longevity (e.g., Colli, 2012; FahedSreih & Djoundourian, 2006; Sharma & Salvato, 2013), and transgenerational entrepreneurship (Habbershon, Nordqvist, & Zellweger, 2010) have been introduced in the literature. However, studies that explicitly incorporate time-related variables in family business research are exceptions rather than the norm. The presence of family and multiple generations in family enterprises automatically expands the temporal frame that owners, managers, advisors, and researchers alike assume in their choices and analyses. Thus, the context of family enterprise offers a rich arena to develop and test time-related theories. Despite the omnipresence of temporal issues in family firms and the unique positioning of this literature to focus on “deeper times” and “matters beyond the shallow pasts and futures” (Bluedorn, 2002, p. 258), seldom is the construct of “time” central in family business research. Systematic scientific attention to temporal issues in family firms has been scanty, to say the least. The full explanatory potential offered by embedding time and temporality into 516058 FBRXXX10.1177/0894486513516058Family Business ReviewsSharma et al. research-article2013