Organizational Psychological Capital of Family Franchise Firms Through the Lens of the Leader–Member Exchange Theory

We explore organizational psychological capital (PsyCap) of family franchise firms by drawing on PsyCap and leader–member exchange (LMX) theories and family business literature. We suggest that unique family firm LMXs characterized by trust, respect, and obligation can foster organizational PsyCap of family franchise firms, in turn affecting their innovativeness. We also suggest that transgenerational succession intentions moderate the impact of the LMXs on the development of organizational PsyCap of family franchise firms as well as the consequent effects on innovativeness. We supplement these theoretical conjectures with two exploratory analyses based on survey data—a stepwise regression and correlational analysis. We also discuss implications for future research and practice