The family firm advantage? Assessing performance differences among women-owned and spousal-owned firms from the U.S. annual business survey

Abstract Women entrepreneurs often face barriers like limited start-up capital, less relevant work experience, and the challenge of balancing long hours away from home. Our study looks at whether family businesses help ease these hurdles for women, thanks to a unique advantage known as familiness —the resources and support that come from family involvement. We also explore whether there is a difference between women-owned family firms and those run jointly with a spouse. Do romantic and business partnerships boost women’s performance, or are women more successful leading family firms on their own? Using data from the U.S. Census Annual Business Survey (ABS), we find that women-owned family firms perform better than women-owned nonfamily firms. However, spousal teams tend to underperform, compared to both mixed-gender nonfamily firms and women-owned family firms without spousal involvement. In short, family resources can help women entrepreneurs overcome barriers to success—but when spouses co-own the business, conventional gender dynamics may resurface, limiting those benefits. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurs worldwide can strengthen women’s business success by leveraging family networks and resources, while being mindful that spousal partnerships may unintentionally reinforce traditional gender roles.