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Purpose The purpose of this study was to understand how the family system plays a role in knowledge sharing (KS) within family firms. The authors argue that the family’s influence can occur through two routes. An external route in which the family affects the culture of the organization and through an internal route in which family leadership within the firm affects the practices and behaviors within the business. Design/methodology/approach Data for this project came from the survey responses of 93 Spanish family firms. Findings The findings expand previous understanding about KS in family firms by outlining the two routes through which the family can have positive effect on KS within family firms. Results show that family system characteristics (i.e. next-generation commitment, family trust and intergenerational relationships) affect KS through their impact on the participative culture of a family firm. Additionally, when a family has been in control of the business for more generations, they place higher importance on family legacy and continuity, which is likely to strengthen the relationship between participative culture and KS in family firms. Originality/value Given the important role that the family system plays within the family business, this paper explored how family characteristics can influence KS in family firms. The authors contribute to the literature by highlighting the importance that the owning family can have in creating an environment that can facilitate KS in family firms.

Purpose: We propose in this paper to analyze what are the factors that influence knowledge transfer both intra and intergenerational in family firms. The main objective is to establish a framework that can be used later in empirical research, although we maintain a completely theoretical approach in this paper Design/methodology/approach: This study, which is a comprehensive framework characterized the knowledge transfer literature in family firms in terms of the factors influencing them, was developed by an extensive literature review. Findings:Based on an extensive literature review, we conclude that knowledge is best transferred when family members value the following factors: trust between family members, commitment to the family business, intergenerational relationships, intragenerational relationships, psychological ownership of the family business, successor's aspects and training, predecessor involvement in the successor training, organizational culture and relationships with Family Business Associations. Research limitations/implications:The study demonstrates the extensiveness and variety of knowledge transfer research. However there is not the same situation in family firms' field. For academics, these different factors can be used as a map for future empirical studies. Originality/value:There is a notable lack of research into knowledge practices in -1216-Intangible Capital -http://dx.doi.org/10.3926/ic.405 small and medium-sized enterprises and especially in family firms. Besides, there is a gap in the understanding of an effective way to transfer these resources across generations; actually, existing studies on knowledge management in family businesses are scarce. The main value of our paper is to fill out partially this gap.

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