Altruism and agency in the family firm

This chapter examines the relationship between altruism and agency costs in family business through an in-depth case study of a family firm. It provides an overview of the literature on agency theory and altruism as it relates to family business. It outlines the research questions that underpin the study and explains why the author chose Neroli and how the data were collected and analyzed. The chapter looks at the story of Neroli and considers the implications of the study and discuss some directions for future research. There is a large and growing body of work that considers the ways in which family businesses differ from non-family businesses. One of the most successful approaches to developing a theory of the family firm has been the agency theory. This theory takes into account the distinctive dynamics of the family business and the role of the business as a family institution.