The objective of this study is to determine the socioemotional priorities that influence the entrepreneurial behaviour of family businesses. The sample includes 214 small and medium-sized family firms in the region of Biobío in Chile. The analysis methods include partial least squares (PLS) and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). The results obtained through PLS show the direct influence of corporate reputation and social ties on entrepreneurial behaviour. In addition, QCA shows how the presence and/ or absence of different socioemotional variables determine entrepreneurial behaviour. Consequently, the study proposes new ways of measuring socioemotional wealth and identifies antecedents of entrepreneurial behaviour in family businesses.