Two Sides of a One-Sided Phenomenon: Conceptualizing the Family Business and Business Family as a Möbius Strip

This article compares the family business, and its reciprocal institution, the business family, to a one-sided band known as the “Möbius strip.” After explaining the rationale for this comparison, the conceptualization is enriched and then enlarged to accommodate the diverse range of firms identifying themselves as family businesses. Next, a process model is presented to explain the emergence, existence, and decline of the familybusiness interface. The article concludes with a discussion of several research-related implications arising from this comparison.