Abstract:

Favouring to family members, fulfilling of family objectives, and convincing stakeholders to maintain family name have made family firms ‘unprofessional in management practices’ by which limit the attraction of professionally developed, skilful and trained non-family employees to employ in family firms. However, knowing unethical management practices take place in family firms, putting their carrier development in risk, non-family professionals also select family firms as their employer. Accordingly, this study addresses the research question, why professionals select family firms to employ? Identifying reasons behind professionals’ choice of employment in family firms serve as the goal of the study. Surveying of 145 non-family professionals employed in different capacities in family firms in Sri Lanka permitted the data analysis of the study. Stepwise logistic regressions with several other descriptive statistics facilitated to disclose that the marital status of individuals and degree of personal rewards from the firm have negatively affected to the choice of family firms by non-family professionals. Job position, work experience, family involvement and recognition of the firm by the society have positively influenced to non-family professionals to select family firms as their employer.