This article takes stock of family business research in the Arab Middle East by systematically reviewing 70 articles published between 2000 and 2018. Results show that prevalent cultural traits of patriarchy and collectivism have led to a high commitment to the family business workforce, to the ceremonial appointment of women in leadership positions, to prioritizing family harmony over any other goal, to the pursuit of male dynastic succession that sustains the vision of the founder, and to informal human resources practices. Furthermore, the presence of institutional voids has facilitated the adoption of informal governance structures and has led controlling owners to adopt conservative financial strategies. These practices translate into various firm economic and societal outcomes, depending on the business legal structure, the generational ownership stage, and the family relationship dynamics. Despite these insights, much of prior research on family businesses in the Arab Middle East remains exploratory and unfocused, which emphasizes an evident need for contextualized, theoretically rich, and methodologically rigorous studies. In conclusion, the article proposes an agenda to advance future research on family businesses in the Arab Middle East.

本文通过系统地回顾了 2000 年至 2018 年间发表的 70 篇文章，对阿拉伯中东的家族企业研究进行了盘点。女性担任领导职务，将家庭和谐置于任何其他目标之上，追求维持创始人愿景的男性王朝继承，以及非正式的人力资源实践。此外，制度空白的存在促进了非正式治理结构的采用，并导致控股所有者采取保守的财务策略。这些做法转化为各种公司的经济和社会成果，具体取决于商业法律结构，代际所有权阶段和家庭关系动态。尽管有这些见解，但之前关于阿拉伯中东家族企业的许多研究仍然是探索性的和缺乏重点的，这强调了对情境化、理论丰富和方法论严谨的研究的明显需求。总之，本文提出了一项议程，以推进对阿拉伯中东家族企业的未来研究。