Unraveling the impact of family antecedents on family firm image: A serial multiple-mediation model

Abstract

While revealing a family firm’s identity can enhance the firm’s appeal to customers and employees and positively affect firm performance, many family firms decide not to portray a family firm image. Until now, we have not had a clear understanding of the factors that determine whether family businesses intentionally project their family firm identity to their external stakeholders. As this decision may affect a family firm’s competitive positioning and its prospects for continuity, it is important to understand the family logic within this decision-making process. Building on stakeholder theory arguments, we examine how family-related factors (e.g., family involvement, transgenerational succession intention and family-centered noneconomic goals) influence the extent to which a dominant family coalition leverages its family image on the company’s website. Our results, which originate from survey research and content analysis of the websites of 340 Dutch family firms, reveal the mechanisms that regulate this process. In particular, we show that transgenerational succession intention and family-centered noneconomic goals serially and double mediate the family involvement–family firm image relationship.