Essays on Family Firms: The Paradox of Family Firms and Wealth Inequality

This dissertation investigates three specific aspects of family firms, especially family business groups, with regard to wealth inequality. Each of the three papers that are part of this dissertation addresses a specific perspective for how family firms may, on the one hand entrench existing gaps in wealth and opportunities and, on the other hand be a powerful antidote to ameliorate global inequalities and increase social mobility. The first paper contends that family business groups deserve special examination because they create and control vast amounts of private wealth that are passed through inheritance to future generations. Despite their economic importance little has been done to investigate to what extent family business groups contribute to wealth inequality. This study offers an economic and legal perspective of the topic and shows that family business groups reify existing power structures that sustain wealth concentration. This article shows that intergenerational transfer (capital and non-capital) and the use of the code of law are powerful mechanisms that help to explain why family business groups reinforce existing inequality that persists over time. However, this paper also shows that family business groups can increase the distribution of wealth through philanthropy and ethical business practices that can dismantle class hierarchies and create opportunities for disadvantageous groups. Thus, this article concludes that family business groups play a paradoxical role. They create wealth inequality due to their societal and economic power but they can also create opportunities for upward social mobility for unprivileged communities. The second paper engages in an interpretative, qualitative analysis of the experience of Magazine Luiza S.A., a publicly traded multigenerational family business in Brazil that has integrated spiritual values in its organization. Drawing upon spiritual capital and ethical leadership literature, the findings of this paper suggest that an owning familys spiritual Executive Summary IX capital influences a leaders expressions of ethical orientations, which, in turn, lead to more favorable business practices towards employees, such as equal working opportunities, inclusion of less privileged groups in the workplace, and an enhanced welfare scheme to employees. The paper also highlights antecedents that facilitate the occurrence of spiritual capital in the context of family firms and offer insights into the role of spiritual values in ethical leadership. The third paper looks at how family owners can increase the distribution of wealth at the family level. Philanthropic motivations of elite philanthropy have recently been highly criticized, considered to be a selfish and highly disconnected exercise from the public benefit, an activity driven rather by personal and economic benefits of the donors. In the face of raising social inequalities, the quest for authenticity in charitable giving is important in the broader debate about wealth distribution. This paper proposes a conceptual model to the attaining of authentic philanthropic identities over the lifetime of family businesses systems that can signal important information in regards to ones psychological and financial capacity to engage in authentic philanthropy. This paper contributes to the growing academic field in which philanthropy intersects with family firms. Overall, this dissertation provides valuable contributions to the understanding of how family firms, especially large family groups, implicate concerns regarding the entrenching of existing inequalities in wealth and opportunities while, at the same time, they can increase the provision of net social benefits that increase the distribution of wealth, creating opportunities for social mobility of marginalized groups. This thesis shows that family firms therefore can contribute to the effort to build and sustain a more equal society.

This dissertation investigates three specific aspects of family firms, especially family business groups, with regard to wealth inequality. Each of the three papers that are part of this dissertation addresses a specific perspective for how family firms may, on the one hand entrench existing gaps in wealth and opportunities and, on the other hand be a powerful antidote to ameliorate global inequalities and increase social mobility. The first paper contends that family business groups deserve special examination because they create and control vast amounts of private wealth that are passed through inheritance to future generations. Despite their economic importance little has been done to investigate to what extent family business groups contribute to wealth inequality. This study offers an economic and legal perspective of the topic and shows that family business groups reify existing power structures that sustain wealth concentration. This article shows that intergenerational transfer (capital and non-capital) and the use of the code of law are powerful mechanisms that help to explain why family business groups reinforce existing inequality that persists over time. However, this paper also shows that family business groups can increase the distribution of wealth through philanthropy and ethical business practices that can dismantle class hierarchies and create opportunities for disadvantageous groups. Thus, this article concludes that family business groups play a paradoxical role. They create wealth inequality due to their societal and economic power but they can also create opportunities for upward social mobility for unprivileged communities. The second paper engages in an interpretative, qualitative analysis of the experience of Magazine Luiza S.A., a publicly traded multigenerational family business in Brazil that has integrated spiritual values in its organization. Drawing upon spiritual capital and ethical leadership literature, the findings of this paper suggest that an owning familys spiritual Executive Summary IX capital influences a leaders expressions of ethical orientations, which, in turn, lead to more favorable business practices towards employees, such as equal working opportunities, inclusion of less privileged groups in the workplace, and an enhanced welfare scheme to employees. The paper also highlights antecedents that facilitate the occurrence of spiritual capital in the context of family firms and offer insights into the role of spiritual values in ethical leadership. The third paper looks at how family owners can increase the distribution of wealth at the family level. Philanthropic motivations of elite philanthropy have recently been highly criticized, considered to be a selfish and highly disconnected exercise from the public benefit, an activity driven rather by personal and economic benefits of the donors. In the face of raising social inequalities, the quest for authenticity in charitable giving is important in the broader debate about wealth distribution. This paper proposes a conceptual model to the attaining of authentic philanthropic identities over the lifetime of family businesses systems that can signal important information in regards to ones psychological and financial capacity to engage in authentic philanthropy. This paper contributes to the growing academic field in which philanthropy intersects with family firms. Overall, this dissertation provides valuable contributions to the understanding of how family firms, especially large family groups, implicate concerns regarding the entrenching of existing inequalities in wealth and opportunities while, at the same time, they can increase the provision of net social benefits that increase the distribution of wealth, creating opportunities for social mobility of marginalized groups. This thesis shows that family firms therefore can contribute to the effort to build and sustain a more equal society.