ANALYSIS OF THE PROFESSIONALIZATION LEVEL IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS

The coexistence of the familiar and business dimensions defines the family-owned business. However, the business dimension is fundamental and the survival of any company needs the professionalization of its management. Thus, greater levels of professionalization are frequently demanded, normally making reference to the incorporation of external managers to the family, nevertheless, professionalization is a more complex phenomenon. In order to measure the levels of professionalization of the family-owned business a set of variables are proposed and measured from 433 companies. The results conclude that the presence of external managers is superior in the more complex familiar companies. Nevertheless, there are no significant differences in the variables that evaluate the professionalization (profile of the manager and systems of management). Thus it is possible to conclude that there are no differences in the level of professionalization of management in family-owned businesses considering the participation of external managers.