Contextualizing employment outcomes in family business research: current findings and future research avenues

Abstract The empirical evidence of family business phenomenon in terms employment outcomes is contradictory highlighting the micro–macro gap existing research. To address this contradiction, our study disentangles role context firms’ outcomes. do so, we conduct a systematic literature review 67 articles focusing on three employment-related outcomes—namely, growth, downsizing, and quality labour—published peer-reviewed journals from 1980 to 2020. Based two-by-two framework classify extant research, unpack what know about firms where can go here. We highlight main findings. First, current research context-less since has mainly focused firm level one (i.e., region or country) there lack studies comparing different contexts explicitly measuring effects contextual dimensions This approach could explain conflicting results theoretical predictability effect across contexts. Second, understanding which dwell highlights need for future focus by theorizing outcomes—that is, its interactions with family- job-related variables. Third, further explore, analyse, theorize aggregate at analysis (e.g., local, regional, national).