CALL FOR PAPERS

The past echoes profoundly influence both the present and the future, especially in family businesses. These echoes—from the narratives of the founder’s vision to family values and enduring traditions—are transmitted from older to younger generations. Serving as a foundation for the future, these intangible elements play an essential role not only in maintaining the family business identity but also in fostering longevity. Traditions that endure across generations form a stable bedrock for the business, ensuring that family values remain at the core of decision-making processes. This continuity helps businesses adapt and thrive in changing environments. By rooting their strategies in these historical strengths, family firms leverage legacy as a catalyst in family entrepreneurship, often demonstrating a resilience that fuels both sustainability and long-term growth.The concept of legacy is often used to capture these phenomena, and it has sparked several streams of literature in family business research (see Radu-Lefebvre et al., 2024). Legacy, transcends the mere preservation of traditions—it is deeply connected to entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurial spirit in family firms is often shaped by the desire to honor and extend the founder’s vision, which leads to business practices that blend tradition with innovation. This unique combination can catalyze new business ventures, create opportunities for diversification, and even foster social impact by reinforcing a commitment to the community and broader societal values. Understanding how legacy can be leveraged for long-term success is crucial for family firms aiming to achieve intergenerational longevity.Moreover, family firms are not the only entities for which legacy plays a significant role. Academia, too, famously draws on stories of past discoveries and both local and global traditions to create meaning and inspire new generations of scholars. Educational institutions provide a fertile ground for fostering entrepreneurship by linking legacy to the ongoing creation and dissemination of knowledge.

Two academic institutions that have crafted a legacy of their own are the EIASM Workshop on Family Firm Management Research and the Centre for Family Entrepreneurship and Ownership (CeFEO) at Jönköping International Business School (JIBS). These institutions not only preserve their own traditions but also shape the entrepreneurial mindsets of their communities, contributing to a lasting impact on the field of family business studies. CeFEO was founded in 2005, the same year that CeFEO affiliates initiated the EISAM workshop. Hence, in 2025, both celebrate their 20th anniversary. This milestone is a testament to their longevity and their ability to evolve while maintaining a strong connection to their founding values. We are therefore pleased to invite you to a celebratory workshop focused on expanding our knowledge of the important role of legacy in family businesses, which will take place at Jönköping International Business School on October 2-3, 2025. We welcome papers on the theme of “Legacy as a Catalyst in Family Entrepreneurship,” with topics that may include (but are not limited to):

- The role of legacy in family firms compared to other organizations
- The emergence of new legacies in established family firms
- Legacy and adaptability in family firms
- The valuation and pricing of family firm legacy
- Managing problematic legacies in family firms
- The process of discarding a family legacy
- The psychology of founder legacy creation
- Ownership forms and structures to preserve family legacy
- Legacy and risk-taking Legacy and sustainability
- Variation in the role of legacy among categories of family firm
- Balancing between legacy as control and legacy as enabler

While submission of papers related to the central theme, “Legacy as a Catalyst in Family Entrepreneurship”, is particularly encouraged, the workshop continues its tradition of accepting articles relevant to family firm management and add value to the development of the family business field in general, and to our understanding of drivers of different types of family business performance, in particular. For example, we welcome papers exploring the intersection between Family Business and Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Organization, Gender, Ethics, Sustainability, Innovation, Digitalization, Internationalization, Governance, Accounting, Control, Marketing, Practice, Emotions, HR, and Careers.