Family and non- family-owned businesses have significant differences with respect to governance, leadership and decision making. To explore the effects of ownership structure on the corporate governance using a mixed method. Descriptive statistical analysis and t-test was used to analyze data obtained from 420 respondents representing 60 firms. Qualitative insights emerged from semi-structured interviews to help understand the context of governance dynamics. Results show that non-family businesses have more explicit leadership, formalized governance, succession plan, and communication. Family businesses are characterized by high levels of loyalty and long-term perspective, as well as by their socioemotional involvement, but tend to struggle with aspects of meritocracy, centralized decision-making and informal governance structures. Study combines agency and stewardship theories to discuss the two sides of family ownership: socio-emotional value and governance weakness. Practical recommendations are around better governance, succession planning and formal decision making in family businesses.

Agency Theory, Corporate Governance, Family-owned Firms, Non-family Firms, Organizational Behavior, Stewardship Theory, Succession Planning

(1) Sajid Mushtaq
Lecturer, Institute of Business Administration Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan.
(2) Faiq Bin Azam
MBA, Supply Chain Management, Manager PDC at Al Kawthar University, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
(3) Sharjeel Ahmed
Visiting Faculty, Bahria University Karachi Campus, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.