本研究從本土的社會文化基礎上，去探討本地傳統家族企業的特質及管理風格，並據以推論家族企業的創業動機和強凝聚力是企業成長的重要因素，然而家族企業的家族心態及管理風格在組織的持續成長上，卻扮演著阻礙的角色。家族企業的管理風格傾向於威權領導、關係取向及印象整飾，由於威權領導造成組織中缺乏制衡機制，另由於關係取向造成對組織成員有內外之別的差序性誘因分配，而這種分配方式也缺乏機制來制衡，當組織規模成長到必須引進家族外部專業人員從事決策性工作時，通常這些中階專業人員無法獲得足量的誘因，因而另謀他就或自創事業，造成原組織承上啟下之中階人員的流失，相較之下，高階的家族成員及低階的非專業性人員則相對處於穩定態，這種中階處於不穩定態的「極端共存」現象，就會影響到企業組織的進一步成長。另一方面，由於家族色彩濃厚，家族代間傳承受到分房法則的習慣制約，第二代企業主通常分得一部份的事業自行經營，這情形可藉由企業面臨傳承時多角化會加速的現象得到證明，雖然多角化的原因可能來自新市場，但也有可能來自分家的需要，換言之，家族企業會自動出現「代間分裂」現象，進而影響到企業組織的成長，雖然某些家族企業因而多角化成為企業集團，但就原組織而言是分裂了。上述兩種抑制原組織規模成長的現象，在本質上都不是外部經濟、市場或技術因素所造成的，而是組織成長過程中內部自發性的現象，而這些現象的根本原因乃在於本土社會文化因素使然，故而具有本土之特殊意義。強烈的家族心態是本地企業創業的旺盛原動力，卻也是阻礙企業持續成長的重要原因，這個悖論特質需要企業家做出抉擇，是要以「家族性情感」維繫較小規模的組織，抑或以「企業化制度」來經營較大規模的組織，則端視企業主的評估與判斷了。

This study tries to explore the nature and managerial style of the “traditional” family businesses in Taiwan from the viewpoint of socio-cultural aspect. The nature of entrepreneurship and strong cohesiveness are the major contributing factors to family business’ success and organizational growth. The managerial style derived from the familism mentality, however, plays on obstructive role on organizations’ further growth. For the managerial style of the family businesses tend to be authoritarian-leading, personal-oriented(kuan-hsi), and impression-managing in nature. Authoritarian leadership excludes the power-balancing mechanism in the organization. And the concept of kuan-hsi leads to distribute different levels of inducements to organizational members not only by their achieved performance but also by their ascribed statuese. Yet there is no balancing mechanism in the “traditional” family businesses to redesign this improper distribution of incentives. When non-family/professional members are needed to preform decisive tasks in the growth stage of the organization, top management(the family members) of the family businesses distribute insufficient incentives to these professional “outsiders.” Hence these middle-level professionals will leave gradually and hollow the organization. Besides, high-level family members of the organization stay in a “stagnant equilibrium(no outflow)” status and low-level employees stay in a “dynamic equilibrium(inflow as well as outflow)” status. Middle-level professionals in this system, however, stay in an “outflow inequilibrium” status. This system phenomenon of “bipolar-coexistence” will obstruct further growth of the organization. Moreover, the familism mentality of the first-generation entrepreneurs will divide up family properties when bequeathing their businesses to the second- generations. This division of family properties is a tacit but rigid rule in Chinese culture and it represents an inner reason for family business’ diversification. In other words, a family business will be disintegrated between generations autonomously. Although this disintegration has proliferous implication in nature, it obstructs the original organizations’ growth. The phenomena of “bipolar- coexistence” and “between-generations’ disintegration” family businesses in Taiwan reveal specific socio-cultural meanings when obstructing organizational growth in size. The familism mentality of local entrepreneurs is one of the most important dynamics to establish their businesses. One the other hand, however, it plays an obstructive role on organizations’ further growth. This paradoxical nature of familism mentality needs careful assessment and adjustment by entrepreneurs when facing business success and growth in size.