Introduction. The article focuses on the study of socioemotional wealth (SEW) as a key factor determining the decision-making logic in family businesses. The relevance of the work is justified by the significant share of family firms in the small and medium-sized business sector of the Russian Federation and the uniqueness of the Russian context, characterized by institutional immaturity, macroeconomic turbulence, and cultural-religious specifics, which precludes the direct transfer of Western research models. Theoretical analysis.