A well-established body of international business research examines how the institutional environment influences corporate decisions. We add to this literature by investigating the unexplored link between family, a fundamental institution in human society, and corporate tax decisions. Applying theories on social norms and the evolution of moral boundaries, we argue that the strength of family ties in a society increases corporate tax avoidance by narrowing the scope of moral responsibilities. We confirm this argument by conducting regression analyses using a large sample of firms from 44 countries. In addition, the positive effect of family ties on tax avoidance is attenuated for firms in countries with inclusive political institutions and is amplified for family firms. Using a sample of U.S. companies, we also find that firms avoid more taxes when they are located in states with stronger family ties and when their CEOs are from countries with stronger family ties, indicating that both the social norms that surround firms and those that are embedded in the origin countries of the managers affect firm tax decisions. Our study implies that the institution of family provides a valuable perspective to understand the international differences in corporate behaviors.

一个完善的国际商业研究机构研究制度环境如何影响公司决策。我们通过调查家庭（人类社会的基本制度）与公司税务决策之间未经探索的联系来补充这一文献。运用社会规范和道德边界演变的理论，我们认为社会中家庭关系的强度通过缩小道德责任的范围来增加企业避税。我们通过使用来自 44 个国家的大量公司样本进行回归分析来证实这一论点。此外，家族关系对避税的积极影响对于具有包容性政治制度的国家的企业来说会减弱，而对于家族企业来说则会放大。使用美国公司的样本，我们还发现，当公司位于家庭关系较强的州以及其首席执行官来自家庭关系较牢固的国家时，公司可以避免更多的税收，这表明围绕公司的社会规范和企业的社会规范都受到影响。管理者的原籍国影响着公司的税务决策。我们的研究表明，家庭制度为理解企业行为的国际差异提供了一个有价值的视角。