Although family firms are ubiquitous, their prevalence displays major geographic disparities and their performance differs across regions. We review an extensive literature showing that formal institutional factors play a key role in explaining variations in the diffusion of family firms and their performance. We also review a more neglected but rapidly emerging stream of research focusing on culture as a source of these variations. By providing a framework for current theories, findings and methods, we demonstrate how cultural elements such as trust, religion, family values and collectivism provide useful answers to where and why family firms exist, and how well they perform.

尽管家族企业无处不在，但它们的普及程度存在很大的地域差异，而且不同地区的绩效也存在差异。我们回顾了大量文献，表明正式制度因素在解释家族企业扩散及其绩效的差异方面发挥着关键作用。我们还回顾了一个更被忽视但迅速兴起的研究流，重点关注文化作为这些差异的根源。通过为当前的理论、发现和方法提供框架，我们展示了信任、宗教、家庭价值观和集体主义等文化元素如何为家族企业存在的地点、原因以及它们的表现提供有用的答案。