Academic research

Finance Research Letters 64 (2024) 105410

Authors: Jānis Bērziņš and Anete Pajuste

This paper analyzes the emergence, succession, and performance of the first-generation family firms in Latvia. Key findings include: 44% of founders did not hold a majority stake initially but achieved it within 7 years. Only 16% of firms transitioned to second-generation owners within 23 years. About 80% remain founder-owned and managed. Family firms outperform nonfamily firms by 3.1% in ROA, consistent with prior studies. Most enterprises face imminent succession, highlighting the need for policy awareness and succession planning support. 

 BFFI and Sorainen in cooperation with ISM in Lithuania and University of Tartu in Estonia, as well as by University of Latvia (by researcher Jelena Luca), 2023/2024

The survey reveals that Baltic family firm owners are eager to pass their businesses to the next generation. Nine out of ten Lithuanians, nearly as many Latvians, and eight out of ten Estonians share this desire. However, preparedness varies. When asked if they have a successor being prepared for management, 69% of Latvian respondents, half of Estonians, and only 37% of Lithuanians answered yes, with successors almost exclusively from family members.  

Altogether, 302 respondents took the survey (114 from Latvia, 99 from Estonia and 89 from Lithuania). 

SSE Riga Executive Master Thesis, 2023

Authors: Ivo Klotiņš and Dainis Skrinda

Family business owners in Latvia are aware of the succession, but do not treat it as a systematic process. They are treating process factors as a succession and encouraging competence for successors, however disregarding other individual factors, as well as relation, financial and context factors. While the lack of knowledge about succession planning calls for education of family business owners, absence of a legal framework for family foundations is preventing succession planning and effective family business succession in Latvia.

SSE Riga Executive Master Thesis, 2024

Author: Maija Treija-Kovāča

  The study explores Latvian family firms’ IPO motivations, highlighting financial goals (liquidity, capital) and non-financial aims (governance, prestige). Stronger family identity emphasizes control and legacy, while weaker identity favors financial trade-offs. Findings challenge assumptions of disadvantage, underscoring identity pride and the importance of institutional support for listings. 

University of Tartu Bachelor Thesis, 2025

Author: Ottomar Sibul

 This study investigates how individual-level factors influence family business continuity, focusing on succession intentions and successor availability. Results show family values significantly affect both, while valuing external work experience shapes transfer intentions only. Education demonstrates no effect, and founder-generation firms exhibit stronger succession indicators than later generations. 

SSE Riga Bachelor Thesis, 2024

Author: Staņislavs Kuļšs and Rūdolfs Zariņš

  This paper examines the relationship between family ownership and ESG performance in Latvian firms using web-scraped disclosure data and logit regression. Results show no clear ownership effect, with ESG outcomes driven primarily by firm size, asset turnover, and industry sector.  

SSE Riga Bachelor Thesis, 2024

Authors: Ričards Agapovs and Roberts Andersons

 This study provides the first comprehensive evidence on Latvian family firm successions. Comparing within-family and outsider transfers (2010–2020), we find post-succession declines in sales growth and ROA, independent of transfer type. Transfer characteristics reveal a post-2013 decline in outsider successions, while within-family transfers remained comparatively stable. 

University of Tartu Bachelor Thesis, 2024

Author: Kristiina Kivimae

The study examined the performance of Estonian family businesses in the hospitality sector during the 2020-2021 crisis. Despite theoretical expectations of resilience, empirical results showed lower returns for family firms compared to non-family firms. Future research could explore underlying reasons and expand the sample to provide broader insights for entrepreneurs. 

SSE Riga Bachelor Thesis, 2023

Authors: Aiva Juste and Raimonds Gorenko

This study analyzes the impact of Covid-19 on family firm performance in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. While family firms demonstrate better performance (return on assets) in all three countries, Latvian and Lithuanian family firms perform better during the crisis. The study also finds that 82% of the largest 200 family firms in Latvia are still owned by their founders, indicating that generational ownership change is happening very slowly. 

SSE Riga Bachelor Thesis, 2022

Authors: Elvis Ancāns and Artis Veldre

The results show that family firms constitute more than 30% of all the firms (with above 2 MEUR revenues) and they are associated with significantly higher performance (return on assets and return on equity) than non-family firms during the time period 2012-2020.