Opening the black box of family constitutions: An analysis of their roles, drivers and outcomes in a business family context

Among governance mechanisms, the family constitution is largely considered one of the most widely used tools by family business practitioners and is perceived as highly effective in helping family firms survive and prosper over generations. Still, scientific research on family constitutions remains scarce. The research that does exist typically views family constitutions as binary entities (either existent or non-existent) and as monolithic documents, thereby ignoring the fact that they can be as heterogeneous as the families that developed them.

The present dissertation aims to address this gap in understanding by disentangling the family constitution mechanism, both as a document and as a process. In a nutshell, this study first conceptually anchors the roles of the mechanism in a multi-theoretical framework (chapter 1). Second, empirical chapters then allow for an in-depth analysis of the family constitution document as well as the process of its creation by analysing the situation “before” the document was put in place, the drivers at play during its development (chapter 2), and the implementation and outcomes “after” having formally adopted (signed) the constitution (chapter 3). The empirical analyses are based on multiple case studies, with an original data collection including the family constitution documents, combined with exploratory interviews of practitioners, as well as group and individual interviews with family members involved in the process in each case.

The various prisms contained in this dissertation offer insights that provide a nuanced and systemic understanding of the family constitution as a more complex tool than it appears, being embedded in idiosyncratic family dynamics and subject to considerable variations. The findings contribute to the family governance debate by positioning family constitutions as heterogeneous mechanisms contingent upon roles, drivers and outcomes. The insights also enrich regulatory focus theory applications in entrepreneurship settings and institutional logics approaches in business family contexts.

Raphaëlle Mattart was a Research Fellow at the Family Business Chair and a PhD Student of HEC Liège from 2018 to 2022. She holds a master’s degree in European studies (Political Science) from the University of Liège (2018). From November 2021 to August 2022, she was a visiting scholar at the School of Business and Economics of Maastricht University. Her scientific research was recognized several times during her PhD (Awards at HEC Liège 2019, IFERA 2020, EURAM 2021, and a best paper nomination at IFERA 2022), and her applied research on family entrepreneurship was presented to family entrepreneurs and stakeholders both nationally and internationally.

Raphaëlle continues her work on family governance dynamics and sustainable entrepreneurship, combined with institutional and political perspectives, as part of CRAN (www.cran.be), a firm dedicated to assist families in business with governance matters and generational transitions by bridging practice and research insights.