A multiple case mapping of family foundations: trends, characteristics and strategic implications

Purpose This study examines family foundations in Italy as part of the broader field of family business research. Such foundations play a crucial role in safeguarding and transmitting family identity and values across generations. Nevertheless, despite their increasing relevance, scholarly research on family foundations remains underdeveloped. This study seeks to examine the principal trends and defining characteristics of family foundations, thereby contributing to the academic discourse and providing insights to inform decision-making processes. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a multiple case study approach to analyze 67 family foundations, enabling a systematic mapping of their key trends and characteristics. The research explores patterns among Italian family foundations active across diverse areas of intervention. The study also examines their digital presence, funding contact methods, funding modalities and financial data. Findings The results highlight family foundations mainly operating in human services and education, often relying on direct projects, partnerships, and grants. Their digital presence is uneven, with Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn most used, and funding procedures often unspecified. Financially, the field is divided between numerous small to medium-sized organizations with modest resources and a few large, well-endowed entities. These contrasting profiles reflect different institutional logics, with the former emphasizing locally oriented and operational activities and the latter relying on capital-intensive strategies capable of sustaining broader and longer-term initiatives. Originality/value By mapping the activities and characteristics of these foundations, the study offers both theoretical insights and practical implications. Overall, the study suggests a comprehensive conceptual framework to explain the motivations for establishing foundations, the resources mobilized, the societal pressures and the families' dynamics. Each lens contributes distinct insights on motivations, resources, contextual pressures and interpretive processes.