Family business as an object of inerdisciplinary research: methodological approach review

Family businesses are known to be the oldest form of business that permeate the world. A lot of studies devoted to the analysis of family business features in different branches of economy have been made over the past two decades. However, family business as an independent subject of study is still in the making; currently it is being “dissolved” in such theoretical concepts as anthropology, economics, sociology, psychology, organization theory, organizational behavior, entrepreneurship theory and strategic management. Thereby, the purpose of the original research is to systematize the existing methodological approaches to family business to reveal the promising trends of theoretical and empirical studies of the present concept in modern economics. The research is based on universal scientific research methods and interdisciplinary methodological tools. Simultaneous study of a family as a system and as business has been proved to extend the comprehension of peculiarities of family firms and their strategies, the features of management and running of the present organizations, the systematization of social and psychological factors that provide their development. On the basis of complex review of theoretical and methodological studies of family business and on the interdisciplinary approach the features of family firms have been identified in the aspect of the four elements that are considered by foreign scholars: strategy, ownership structure, corporate management and social psychology. When studying corporate management features we have revealed the role of a supervisory board in the system of family business management, demonstrated the advantages of the organization of a supervisory board as a special board that functions both as an observer and a trainer. The theoretical and methodological review we have done may become the foundation for further studies devoted to family business peculiarities in Russia.