Evolution of Studies on Women in Latin American Family Businesses: From 1996 to 2023

Abstract

The relevance of women in the formation, sustainability, and continuity of family businesses is undeniable. Therefore, monitoring research on their participation in such businesses has become increasingly important; doing so in a geographic region as broad as Latin America will certainly contribute to improving knowledge on the subject. The objective of this study is to present an in-depth analysis of the state of the art of research on women in family businesses in Latin America between 1996 and 2023. To this end, a literature review was conducted, a database was constructed, and scientific articles published in indexed journals over the last three decades were analyzed. The results make it possible to identify the evolution of thematic, epistemological, and methodological axes, as well as trends and future lines of research. Among the findings, the factors influencing women’s participation, the roles they perform, the characteristics of succession, and business management stand out. The main limitation concerns the number of studies surveyed. This work is relevant because it focuses exclusively on studies whose purpose is to analyze the situation of women in family businesses in Latin America.