Spotlight highlights research-based findings only, authored by members of the Centre for Family Entrepreneurship and Ownership (CeFEO) at Jönköping International Business School. If you’re interested in knowing more about the studies presented in this platform or delving into the theoretical and methodological details, we encourage you to contact the authors or read the full article for a comprehensive understanding.

Sieger, P., Brinkerink, J., Baù, M., Karlsson, J., & De Massis, A. (2026). Fly solo, then return home? Offspring's entrepreneurship experience and their future as family business successors. Journal of Management Studies. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.70114

Smith, C., Nordqvist, M., De Massis, A., & Miller, D. (2021). When so much is at stake: Understanding organizational brinkmanship in family business. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 12, 100425.

Smith, C., Rondi, E., De Massis, A., & Nordqvist, M. (2024). Rising every time we fall: Organizational fortitude and response to adversities. Journal of Management, 50(5), 1865–1910. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063231164969

Strano, S. M., Botero, I. C., Fediuk, T. A., & Pisano, V. (2024). Understanding customer’s post-M&A intentions and behaviors: The role of the family business brand and previous reputation of the acquiring firm. Journal of Family Business Management.

Sund, L.-G., Melin, L., & Haag, K. (2015). Intergenerational ownership succession: Shifting the focus from outcome measurements to preparatory requirements. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 6(3), 166–177.

Symeonidou, N., DeTienne, D. R., & Chirico, F. (2022). The persistence of family firms: How does performance threshold affect family firm exit? Small Business Economics, 59, 477–489.

Tesfaye, T., Markowska, M., Segaro, E. L., & Naldi, L. (2026). Spiritual bricolage among women entrepreneurs: Reframing adversity. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 38(5–6), 576–603. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2025.2598854

Tessema, D. A., Brunninge, O., & Cestino, J. (2024). Transmission of entrepreneurial values in enterprising families: A systematic literature review. Journal of Family Business Management.

Umans, T., Smith, E., Andersson, W., & Planken, W. (2020). Top management teams’ shared leadership and ambidexterity: the role of management control systems. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 86(3), 444–462

van Helvert-Beugels, J., Nordqvist, M., & Flören, R. (2020). Managing tensions as paradox in CEO succession: The case of nonfamily CEO in a family firm. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 38(3), 211–242.

Visintin, F., Pittino, D., Lauto, G., & Harirchi, G. (2025). Women leaders and entrepreneurial orientation in high-technology industries: A problem of role congruity between glass ceiling and paper floor? Entrepreneurship Research Journal, 15(3), 547–583. https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2024-0266

Visintin, F., Pittino, D., & Minichilli, A. (2017). Financial performance and non‐family CEO turnover in private family firms under different conditions of ownership and governance. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 25(4), 312–337.

Waldkirch, M., Belschner, R., & Kammerlander, N. (2025). Taking charge: A configurational perspective on post-succession change in family firms. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 49(4), 992–1036.

Waldkirch, M., Kammerlander, N., & Wiedeler, C. (2021). Configurations for corporate venture innovation: Investigating the role of the dominant coalition. Journal of Business Venturing, 36, 106137.

Waldkirch, M., Nordqvist, M., & Melin, L. (2018). CEO turnover in family firms: How social exchange relationships influence whether a non-family CEO stays or leaves. Human Resource Management Review, 28(1), 56–67.

Wang, W., Eddleston, K. A., Chirico, F., Zhang, S. X., Liang, Q., & Deng, W. (2023). Family diversity and business start-up: Do family meals feed the fire of entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 47(4), 1265–1297. https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587231170213

Wilden, R., Lin, N., Chirico, F., & Khan, S. (2025). How do CEOs seek advice from CMOs vs. CTOs in radical innovation decision making under uncertainty? Research Policy, 54(105324).

Wu, S., Chirico, F., Fan, D., Ding, J., & Su, Y. (2024). Foreign market exit in family firms: Do historical military and cultural frictions matter? Journal of World Business, 59, 101504.

Wu, Z., & Naldi, L. (2025). Developing the workforce: Exploring the impact of female directors on male-led new ventures. Journal of Business Venturing, 40, 106504.

Wu, Z., Naldi, L., Wennberg, K., & Uman, T. (2024). Learning from their daughters: Family exposure to gender disparity and female representation in male-led ventures. Management Science, 70(2), 671-693.

Yang, T., Kacperczyk, A., & Naldi, L. (2024). The motherhood wage penalty and female entrepreneurship. Organization Science, 35(1), 27-51.

Yang, T., Kacperczyk, A. (O.), & Naldi, L. (2026). Does entrepreneurship narrow the gender earnings gap? Strategic Management Journal, 1–52. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.70065
