Book excerpt: It is estimated that family businesses comprise between 60-90 % of all firms in Europe and the United States. This book makes an important contribution to the understanding of small family firms by bringing together a number of key themes in management/organisation studies. Reviewing a range of theoretical approaches, examining key literature and drawing from an international range of primary research, it also points to the future of research in this arena, and indicates how support and policy initiatives may be directed in the future.