The Stewardship PLC

A critical, and yet unanswered, question in respect of family businesses concerns the effects of being a public listed company (PLC) on the characteristics of the respective family business. Building on institutional economics and socioemotional wealth (SEW) considerations of family businesses, we theorize that listed family businesses appear as crossbreeds of concepts that are unforeseen in the literature. This research explores contradictions and incompatibilities between being a family firm and being a PLC, as well as between the logics of stewardship theory and principal–agent theory. We use primary research data from a series of multi-generational in-depth interviews with members of the owner family of a public listed family firm. Results suggest correspondence between family firms and the concept of a PLC, as well as a relatedness between stewardship theory and principal–agent theory. The model of “Stewardship PLC” is thereby determined. This matters for researchers in search of fresh premises for future investigations, and practitioners seeking, for example, cases to inspire new perspectives for the development of their business. We assume relevance for politicians because the availability of economically usable resources may be less self-evident in the future, and, so, businesses may be considered to pursue roles beyond working toward a “profit organization.”