Ethical decision making and sustainability in family firms: the role of the business model and motivation on sustainability

This dissertation investigates what motivates family businesses to or not to adopt environmentally friendly and sustainable strategies –as part of ethical decision making in the business strategy. The thesis focuses on family-owned businesses in Germany's fashion and food industries, ranging from medium sized companies up to multinational corporations with annual revenues exceeding €150 million. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for peace and prosperity for current and future generations, emphasizing the critical importance of addressing all kinds of sustainability issues. Although it is assumed that family-owned businesses adopt more ethical decisions, it is unclear why they adopt sustainable practices as part of this value driven, ethical behavior. Therefore, this doctoral thesis generates qualitative empirical data, to deliver new insights. Analyzing the 33 interviews, the thesis distinguishes between four types of motivations for family businesses to act sustainably or not: conviction, self-interest, pressure, and compulsion; a fifth category has developed for those who have no motivation. The overall goal of this manuscript is to shed light on what drives family businesses to work in an ethical way toward environmental sustainability. Analyzing the interview date this can be shown. Furthermore, the manuscript gives evidence that family businesses may be hesitant to innovate their business models only for sustainability reasons, especially if their long-term profitability is jeopardized. Because attitudes toward sustainability differ across national boundaries and cultural contexts, the consumer’s role in promoting sustainability is also emphasized. This doctoral thesis delivers several new insights in the ethical decision making as well as the sustainability behavior of family business and contributes to the discussion on family business and their strategic decision making.