Contextual dimensions of family firm legacy: a symbolic approach to social capital
通过符号互动论分析14家家族企业数据，研究遗产作为社会资本如何在家族与企业成员间演变和传递，揭示情境维度对遗产的影响。
Purpose This study examines the intersection of legacy and contextual dimensions through a symbolic interactionist approach, analyzing how legacy as a form of social capital evolves and is transmitted across family and family business members. Design/methodology/approach The article analyzes data from fourteen family businesses through a qualitative multiple-case study design. The research is based on the Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices STEP Project Global Consortium (SPGC) data. The article applies a symbolic interactionist approach to social capital to uncover how the spatial, temporal, practice and change dimensions of context intersect with the biological, material and social facets of the family firm legacy. Findings The analysis presents a comprehensive framework that integrates contextual and legacy dimensions, deepening the understanding of legacy as a complex, evolving construct and of context as a co-constitutive lens of analysis rather than a mere backdrop. This approach enriches both legacy and contextual literature, offering new theoretical insights and practical implications for scholars and practitioners. Originality/value This paper builds on research emphasizing the role of context in entrepreneurial studies. It advances the understanding of legacy dimensions in family businesses by leveraging the symbolic interactionism approach, underexplored in this field of inquiry.