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20th Anniversary of the Theories of Family Enterprise Conference | University of North Texas

cob.unt.edu

Family businesses outlast most corporations — and a 20-year conference dedicated purely to theorizing why reveals just how much we still don't understand about dynasty, loyalty, and economic kinship.

Agency TheoryStewardship TheorySocioemotional Wealth TheoryInstitutional Theory

Theory Briefing

  • The Theories of Family Enterprise Conference (TOFE) marks 20 years as a globally recognized hub for advancing family business research and theory.
  • Its limited-attendance format is itself a deliberate design choice, reflecting how tight-knit networks accelerate knowledge production — mirroring the family firms it studies.
  • Family enterprise theory sits at the crossroads of agency problems, altruism, and succession dynamics, making TOFE a rare space where those tensions are formally interrogated.