This study considers family involvement (presence of family) in business context, with the aim of understanding from the perspective of institutionalization how this involvement affects the pillars of institutionalization. The study considers the top managers of family businesses in Turkey’s four largest cities, and hence draws a general picture of this subject in Turkey. The results reveal that top managers show a resistance towards institutionalization: if the adoption of rules regarding the family’s presence in relation to the business context is sufficiently well emphasized, then it is not particularly necessary to emphasize the institutionalization of managerial, financial, and succession issues.

Martin Svoboda