Informal family governance mechanisms are the self-enforcing interactions and symbols used by a business family to nurture family relationships and manage expectations. While previous research points to the positive influence of identity and career alignment on the engagement and commitment of next-generation members towards their family enterprise, it has remained unclear how this alignment develops. This exploratory study of a European business family, founded in 1826, points to informal family governance mechanisms and ownership alignment —a previously neglected phenomenon— to bind the identity and career alignment, thereby nurturing the affective commitment of offspring towards the family business. In addition to the theoretical contributions to the family governance and affective commitment literatures, this study builds usable knowledge for business families and their advisors.

非正式的家族治理机制是企业家族用来培养家族关系和管理期望的自我强制互动和符号。虽然先前的研究指出身份和职业一致性对下一代成员对其家族企业的参与和承诺具有积极影响，但目前尚不清楚这种一致性如何发展。这项对成立于 1826 年的欧洲企业家族的探索性研究指出，非正式的家族治理机制和所有权一致性——一种以前被忽视的现象——将身份和职业一致性结合起来，从而培养了后代对家族企业的情感承诺。除了对家族治理和情感承诺的理论贡献之外，