High-performance work systems in family firms: A mixed gamble approach

Research on the use of high-performance work systems (HPWSs) in family firms has yielded mixed evidence. This study aims to bridge this gap by using the socioemotional wealth (SEW) approach and the behavioral agency model (BAM) to explain why certain family firms have a greater incentive to use HPWS. We argue that the decision of family firms to implement HPWS is part of a mixed-gamble scenario of balancing risks with financial and family wealth prospects. Our results from 453 Spanish medium-sized and private family firms confirm that the importance of preserving SEW has a positive effect on the adoption of HPWS and that this influence is particularly pronounced in high-risk firms whose management is mainly controlled by family members and by the second generation. These findings contribute to the literature by explaining how using HPWS by family firms is significantly contingent on business risk.