ECOFAMILY Framework: A Sustainable and Circular Balanced Scorecard for Family Businesses

Abstract

Family businesses face increasing pressure to integrate sustainability into strategic decision‐making; however, existing strategic management frameworks remain insufficiently adapted to operationalizing sustainability within the specific context of family businesses. Using a design science research approach, this study proposes the ECOFAMILY Framework, which extends the balanced scorecard by embedding environmental, social, governance, and circular economy dimensions across its four perspectives. The framework enables the alignment of family values with measurable sustainability outcomes. An exploratory expert assessment provides preliminary insights into experts' perceptions of the framework's relevance, clarity, and applicability while also identifying implementation challenges in resource‐constrained contexts. This study contributes by operationalizing sustainability through a family‐business‐specific strategic management system, extending existing Sustainability balanced scorecard literature and redefining the strategic architecture through which family businesses integrate sustainability into strategic decision‐making.