S and Drakopoulou-Dodd S (2005) The role of family members in entrepreneurial networks: Beyond the boundaries of the family firm. Family Business Review 18(2

Research has traditionally concentrated on formal kin involvement in the family busi-ness. This study investigates if, to what extent, and how entrepreneurs capitalized on resources embedded in the family, but beyond the formal traditionally defined bound-aries of the family firm. Employing both quantitative and qualitative approaches, the study finds that about one-quarter of our sample’s entrepreneurial network ties were kin, and that most of these worked outside the formal family firm. These ties provided a range of very important resources, both professional and affective in nature. Such beneficial ties extend the family firm without incurring the typical hazards of external linkages