Purpose
This paper aims to shed light on the relationship between long-term orientation (LTO) and the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in family firms while adopting a stewardship perspective.

Design/methodology/approach
A survey of the top managers of family firms in Iran's science and technology parks was conducted, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the collected data.

Findings
The research results showed that LTO has a positive effect on innovativeness and proactiveness and a negative effect on riskiness. Therefore, family firms' LTO pays off by enhancing their EO.

Practical implications
In today's competitive world, EO is gradually becoming an inevitable necessity in many industries. Executives who want their firms to have a high level of performance should pay special attention to entrepreneurial behaviors. The present research informs the family firms' managers and practitioners to be long-term oriented to embrace more innovativeness and proactiveness, and less riskiness.

Originality/value
So far, the relationship between the LTO and entrepreneurial characteristics of family firms has remained ambiguous; this research is one of the first studies investigating this relationship.