The family office in Spain: an exploratory study
Authors: Rivo López Elena , Rodríguez López Nuria , González Sánchez Beatriz 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the features that the business structure known as a Family Office (FO) has in Spain by considering it as a useful tool for businessmen to manage and/or diversify their wealth. After reviewing the available literature, the authors put forward a model for the constitution of an FO in terms of a system of interdependent variables which prove useful in making sense of the different forms in which Spanish FOs are organized, governed and, ultimately, evolve.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed a case study method, selecting a sample of six Spanish FOs, being careful in that they stand for each of the different types of FO that have been distinguished in the literature. This research method is appropriate insofar as the notion of degree of development – even though it is acknowledged that applies in the business practice – has not been properly understood yet to the point that sound conceptual grounds for its study can be established.FindingsWe have identified and discerned among three variables which prove useful in understanding the constitution and development processes of an FO, namely: objectives‐scope of activity; structure‐outsource to in‐house ratio; and governance bodies. The relation between these variables and the development of an FO can be made manifest in terms of three propositions of a heuristic nature based on this case study. The authors can explain the relation between these variables and the degree of development of an FO in this way, and with it contribute foundational elements for the development of a theoretic framework that is appropriate for pursuing further research on the factors that can enhance the performance of an FO.Research limitations/implicationsThe companies that have been sampled in this case study, even though complying with the significance criteria in a case study scenario, do not comprise the totality of operating Spanish FOs. Thus, in spite of the adequacy of this method, the results obtained cannot be extended as they are to the entire population of Spanish FOs. Nonetheless, they are helpful in suggesting a theoretic framework for a subsequent statistical study that can either reinforce or weaken the theoretic elements suggested.Practical implicationsGiven the small‐sized deployment of the FO in Spain – about only ten per cent of those located in Europe – it seems important to make available to family firms what the main motivations and rationale for setting an FO may be, together with the best conditions to proceed doing so, thus expanding their knowledge on what the most appropriate structures and governance bodies are and what the consequences of the decisions taken in those regards may be.Originality/valueA number of studies, most of them conducted by America‐based researchers, have been conducted in the recent past, with the aim of analyzing the deployment of FOs and the consequences for the entrepreneur family. Nonetheless, given the relatively recent constitution of this kind of structure, the number of studies devoted to it is still comparatively scarce. This is even more significant when it comes to the study of Spanish firms. Hence, this study impinges not only on the improvement of our understanding in terms appropriate for suggesting – and with further research, maybe establishing – a theoretic framework needed for any general study, but also on the optimization of the FO management.