Recent literature (McNulty, Yeh, Schulze, & Lubatkin, 2002) states that the assumptions behind the capital asset pricing model, in particular the irrelevance of time horizon, do not correspond to the characteristics of firms that prefer long-term investment horizons. I show that family firms display a longer time horizon than most of their nonfamily counterparts, since (1) family firms display ...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered as an engine for economic growth all over the world and especially for developing countries. During the past decade, new product development (NPD) has increasingly been recognized as a critical factor in ensuring the continued survival of SMEs. On the other hand, the rapid rate of market and technological changes has accelerated in the past dec...

PURPOSE To investigate whether microRNA (MIR)-184 mutations make a substantial contribution to keratoconus (KCN) among affected Iranian patients. METHODS A total of 47 Iranian KCN patients, diagnosed based on family history, clinical examinations using slit lamp biomicroscopy, refraction and corneal topography were enrolled in this study. The pri-miR-184 encoding gene obtained from the DNAs o...

In this paper, I ask whether family firms provide stability to their stakeholders at the expense of economic growth. I build a model where current owners of dynastic firms derive private benefits from keeping the control of the firm within the family over the generations. Because these preferences limit the recourse to external finance, they induce family-minded entrepreneurs to invest in small...

We study the leverage of firms making large dividend increases. Over the five years following the dividend increase they raise leverage enough to finance the entire dividend increase for that period with debt. This is not explained by trade-off variables or the pecking order. The effect is greatest for big firms with low-powered incentives, suggesting an agency effect whereby they make large di...

The paper focuses on the professionalization of family-firms. The study analyses the role of family and management systems in family business, particularly with regard to the relationship between professionalization and economic performance of family firms. The study analyses the features, the drivers and the effect of professionalization of family firms. All the hypotheses have been tested on ...