‘REAL’ DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FAMILY AND NON- FAMILY SMEs: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AUSTRALIA AND BELGIUM

This study attempts to further the development of family business theory by providing for a more detailed understanding of the differences between family and non-family firms’ profitability, growth, exporting and networking behaviour. Utilising data from 2190 Australian SMEs, the study compares the Australian experience of differences between family and non-family firms with those found among Belgium firms. The Australian results are consistent with the growth and some of the networking behaviour found among Belgium firms, but not with their profitability and exporting behaviour. The study’s findings support the contentions that the differences between family and non-family firms may be less than many earlier studies have indicated and that industry differences and crossnational differences in corporate governance environments may lead to a variance in the differences found between family and non-family firms. It also demonstrates that the underlying theoretical rationale for a number of predicted differences between family and non-family firms appears flawed. A significant number of recommendations for future research are presented.