Purpose -The purpose of this article is to offer an empirical study on the particular topic of the role of values on longevity of family firms in order to open the future research agenda. Design/methodology/approach -To analyse the first issue, the article contrasts samples from Spain, Italy, France and Finland. The second and third issues are focused on the Spanish sample, but, to enrich the debate, Italian and French samples have also been included. Findings -The present paper seeks to shed light on this stream of research by developing an analysis that focuses on three key elements: the ranking of values that have the most influence on family business longevity, the process of value transmission, and the condition of longevity as an asset. Originality/value -The link between longevity and values has been pointed out by several authors, who underlined values as an important factor to support a long-term vision, as well as a source of competitive advantage based on using values as specific company resources. Nevertheless, not many empirical works have dealt with this topic.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.