The family variable in the wine sector: an Italian perspective

Abstract

The main goal of this study is to analyse the impact of the family variable on performance in the Italian wine sector. We referred to several studies in which the family could be considered a missing variable in management research. The analysis was conducted in both family firms (FFs) and non-family firms (NFFs) to determine the similarities, differences and impact on performance. The research population was composed of all the 369 medium and large-sized Italian companies operating in the Italian wine sector existing in October 2014. Data were extracted from the Amadeus database. The analysis considered three years (2011-2012-2013). From this paper it emerged that FFs outperform NFFs in terms of economic performance in Italian wine firms (with the exception of the Earnings before interest and taxes - EBIT - margin). However, in terms of financial performance, NFFs outperform FFs (with the exception of the solvency ratio). So, this study highlights that the family variable is partially relevant to achieving good performance and has different significance to the firms.