Family Business Brand Research Articles

Not all communication styles are created equal: the differing effects of communicating the family business brand’s roots and virtues

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of communication style focusing on the family business brand’s roots and virtues on inferences of manipulative intent and willingness to pay a price premium, applying the persuasion knowledge model. Design/methodology/approach This study collects data involving 337 participants from France and applies partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypotheses. Findings The results demonstrate that communication style plays an important role in inferences of manipulative intent: focusing on the family business brand’s virtues has a positive effect while focusing on the family business brand’s roots has a nonsignificant effect. In turn, inferences of manipulative intent have a negative and significant effect on willingness to pay a price premium. Furthermore, age does not moderate the effect of communication style focusing on the family restaurant brand’s roots and inferences of manipulative intent but positively moderates the effect of communication style focusing on the family restaurant brand’s virtues on inferences of manipulative intent. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to try to unpack the differing effects of communication styles in the context of family business brands. In this vein, it has insightful theoretical and managerial implications for family business brands.

Understanding customer’s post-M&A intentions and behaviors: the role of the family business brand and previous reputation of the acquiring firm

Purpose Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are a critical time for organizations and their consumers. For the company, there are many financial and non-financial risks. For customers, it requires deciding whether or not to continue the relationship that they had with the previous firm. This paper explores the extent to which communicating the family business (FB) brand, and the previous reputation of the acquirer affects customer perceptions and intentions after an M&A event.Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were collected from 159 Italian participants. We used a 2 (Communication of FB brand: Yes vs. No) by 3 (Reputation: positive, neutral, negative) between subjects’ experiment to test how the communication of the FB brand and the reputation of the acquirer affected perceived trustworthiness and service quality, and how this, in turn, influenced customer purchase intentions.Findings We find that communicating the FB brand does not influence consumer perceptions and intentions toward the acquired company. However, the previous reputation of the acquiring firm is critical in influencing consumer perceptions and intentions to buy.Originality/value Our study continues the growing research on M&A in family firms. It also increases our understanding of the boundary conditions of the FB brand effects, and the relevance that the previous reputation of a family firm can have in M&A scenarios. Finally, our study introduces the “Halo” and “Velcro” effects into the FB literature.

Why Being Good Matters: The Impact of CSR and Family Business Brand on Organizational Attractiveness

Why Being Good Matters: The Impact of CSR and Family Business Brand on Organizational Attractiveness

Identity of the Family Business Company. How Do the Most Valuable Polish Family-Owned Companies Use Family Identity in Building the Image of a Family-Owned Company?

Theoretical background: In Poland, family-owned companies have been actively developing since the democratic transformation. Some of them have used market conditions, being mature and large entities, consciously building their corporate brand identities, and communicating their messages on their websites. A lot of them are faced with a strategic decision whether to build a brand based on the family-owned type of brand, as encouraged by associations, foundations as well, and the media, whose goal is to support and integrate family-owned companies. Purpose of the article: This article aims to explore the way in which the most valuable Polish family-owned companies that decided to be presented in the Forbes ranking in September 2023 communicate the identity of the family firm on their website and to fid out if there is any pattern or model of communication. Research methods: Fifty websites from 100 family businesses classifid in the Forbes magazine ranking of the most valuable Polish family-owned companies with revenues exceeding PLN 100 million, published in September 2023, were examined, diagnosing elements indicating the adoption of the brand identity of a family business. The criteria for building the family business brand for Polish companies were developed with the participation of 12 experts in the field of family business. Main findings: A model was constructed to identify the family identity of the brand of the family-owned company using family-owned websites. The results of the research indicate that the percentage of family-owned companies among the most precious family owned companies which are defied as family owned companies is higher than that indicated in the reports as of 2009 and 2017 for small and medium companies in Poland.

The Well-Being of Managers in the Context of the Identity Brand of the Family Company

Theoretical background: The article delves into the domain of qualitative research applied to investigating the well-being of managers within family businesses. It situates its discussion within the broader context of brand identity in such enterprises. Theoretical underpinnings include insights into the formation of well-being in family-run companies, highlighting the interconnectedness between managerial well-being and the identity of the family business. Purpose of the article: Primarily methodological in nature, the article aims to delineate a systematic approach to conducting qualitative research specifically tailored to exploring the well-being of managers within the context of family business brand identity. It seeks to elucidate the process of uncovering the intricate links between managerial well-being and the identity of family-owned businesses, thus contributing to the understanding of how well-being manifests in such organisational settings. Research methods: The article outlines an algorithmic framework designed to guide qualitative research endeavours focused on manager well-being within family businesses. It underscores the importance of employing both inductive and deductive approaches in qualitative research, as evidenced by a pretest conducted to discern their differential applications in this context. Main findings: The key findings of the article revolve around the proposed algorithm for conducting qualitative research on the well-being of managers with respect to the brand identity of the family business brand. The study underscores the importance of qualitative methods in unraveling the complexities of well-being in the unique context of family-run enterprises. By elucidating the interrelationships between managerial well-being and brand identity, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics at play within family businesses and offers valuable insights for both scholars and practitioners in this field.

Familiness in Building the Brand Image of Family Businesses through Social Media

Abstract Objective The subject of this article is the marketing aspect of familiness related to building the image of a family business brand. The aim of the article is to analyze the impact of familiness in the activities connected with building the brand image of small and medium-sized family businesses. Methodology Qualitative and quantitative methods have been included in the conducted research. Findings The research has shown that Facebook is used by the vast majority of companies. This research has also demonstrated that a large percentage of companies do not emphasize the familiness of their company in their activities on social media. This is surprising because the analysis of the literature shows that emphasizing the family character brings definitely more benefits than risks. Value Added This article presents a research of how family-owned companies use familiness in the brand image. The results of the research can be used to guide companies on how to use familiness in their social media marketing campaigns. Recommendations It is recommended that family businesses make greater use of the potential of their family strengths. It would be advisable to conduct research explaining why the family nature of companies is so rarely emphasized in social media activities. We also suggest conducting similar research in other countries, which would allow for more general conclusions and capture cross-cultural differences.

Here's Why Family Businesses Need Branding

Here's Why Family Businesses Need Branding

The influence of the firm on family business branding: the mediator role of the family

PurposeIt is acknowledged that the firm and the family interact in the family firm system and that family identity can influence family business brand communication through affecting stakeholders' perception, raising a question of whether the firm can implement its effect on the communication of family business brands via family identity. To address this question, this research investigates how firm revenue influences family business branding via family harmony.Design/methodology/approachData for this research were gathered from a survey of 327 Chinese family firms.FindingsThe results show that family harmony fully mediates the relationship between firm revenue and family business branding.Originality/valueThis study is the first to demonstrate that the firm has an indirect effect on family business branding via family identity, a contribution to family business brand literature. The findings also offer insights into the relationship between firm performance and family business branding. Additionally, this project has implications for research on family harmony in the family business.

That's the Press, Baby! How journalists co-create family business brands meanings: A mixed method analysis

Drawing upon the thriving brand co-creation perspective, our study explores the co-creation of family business brand (FBB) meanings with external stakeholders. Through a mixed method analysis that combines structural topic modelling and interpretative grounded theorizing, we analyse 12,039 newspaper articles, covering a period of 30 years, to show how journalists co-created intended and unintended family business brand meanings. Our findings reveal seven unique FBB discourses, and a set of five discursive strategies (echoing, educating, narrativizing, unveiling and reframing) embedded in two discursive mechanisms (FBB meanings consolidation and FBB meanings unravelling) that journalists actuate in their press coverage of family businesses. Thus, our paper contributes to the family business and brand co-creation literatures theorizing and contextualizing the role of an overlooked actor in the FBB ecosystem, promotes a way to methodologically apply big-data-friendly analysis in the family business field, and offers managerial implications.

The interrelationship of family identities, personalities, and expressions on family winery websites

PurposeFamily businesses feature prominently in economies, including the South African wine industry, using websites to convey their family identity. This research paper aims to explore the family identity elements that family wineries use on their websites, their alignment and how these are communicated online.Design/methodology/approachBased on Gioia’s methodology, a two-pronged approach was used to analyze 113 wineries’ websites’ text using Atlas. ti from an interpretivist perspective.FindingsSouth African wineries use corporate identity, corporate personality and corporate expression to illustrate their familiness on their websites. It is portrayed through their family name and heritage, supported by their direction, purpose and aspirations, which emerge from the family identity and personality. These are dynamic and expressed through verbal and visual elements. Wineries described their behaviour, relevant competencies and passion as personality traits. Sustainability was considered an integral part of their brand promise, closely related to their family identity and personality, reflecting their family-oriented philosophy. These findings highlight the integration that exists among these components.Practical implicationsTheoretically, this study proposes a family business brand identity framework emphasising the centrality of familiness to its identity, personality and expression. Using websites to illustrate this familiness is emphasised with the recommendation that family businesses leverage this unique attribute in their identity to communicate their authenticity.Originality/valueThis study contributes to understanding what family wineries communicate on their websites, specifically by examining the elements necessary to create a family business brand based on the interrelationship between family identity, personality and expression with familiness at its core, resulting in a proposed family business brand identity framework.

The family business brand: cross-fertilization between fields

PurposeFollowing a bibliometric approach, this study examines research on brand and branding in family businesses (FBs) to identify influential sources and main areas of knowledge, proposes an integrative framework that provides a holistic perspective of this field with an interdisciplinary cross-fertilization view and explores new avenues for future research and practice.Design/methodology/approachBased on 449 bibliographic references retrieved from the Web of Science database through a systematic process, the authors employed bibliographic coupling analysis to visualize the relationships among key works in the field and subsequently performed a literature review to deepen the analysis.FindingsThe bibliographic coupling analysis structured the existing research into six thematic clusters. Four of them follow an internal perspective and focus on FB identity and its influence on the construction of corporate brand identity, whereas the other two follow an external perspective that explores how FB brands are communicated and perceived by stakeholders and the influence of corporate brands and branding on FB image and reputation. Drawing from an in-depth review of the literature, this study offers a novel integrative framework, together with a set of proposals with managerial and theoretical implications.Practical implicationsThe proposed framework aims to clarify the relationship between internal identity and management to build and communicate a FB brand. The study also shows the symbiosis that exists among family values, corporate reputation, brand equity and awareness in FBs. The existing interconnection between the family and business generates unique associations that are difficult to imitate.Originality/valueThis study is the first documented attempt at a bibliometric analysis of brands and branding in FBs, which serves to clarify the linkages between different research streams and connecting marketing, organization and FB literature to guide future research. Moreover, the integrative framework provides researchers and practitioners with a better understanding of its scope, highlighting the importance of corporate brand strategies beyond the boundaries of marketing departments.

Family business branding from a signaling theory perspective: an integrative framework

PurposeThis study aims to review family business branding research, elaborate a new framework integrating family business branding and corporate brand management literature and finally identify future research directions.Design/methodology/approachA bibliometric analysis was conducted to present the main research topics within family business branding.FindingsThe contributions of this study are threefold. First, this study maps the main themes of family business branding research and highlights its fragmented nature. Second, this study proposes an overarching framework based on signaling theory, attempts to bridge the family business branding and corporate brand management literature and provides a lead for future research. Third, this study stresses the role of brand construct in family business branding.Originality/valueThis study represents an important step in the identification of a new theoretical framework that best fits the investigation of family business branding.

The variation of family business branding across stakeholders: a social identity perspective

PurposeFamily business brand communication depends on the effect of the family on stakeholders' perception, and the family influences stakeholders differently, raising the question of whether family business branding varies across stakeholders. Drawing on social identity theory, this research classifies a family firm's stakeholders into family (in-group) and non-family (out-group) stakeholders and explores the communication of family business brands to these two groups of stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachData for this research were gathered from a questionnaire survey of 327 Chinese family firms.FindingsThe results show that family business brand communication differs between family and non-family stakeholders. Additionally, family harmony has a positive relationship with family business branding to family stakeholders and an inverse U-shaped relationship with family business branding to non-family stakeholders.Originality/valueThis research is the first to demonstrate that family business brand communication varies across stakeholders and that the effect of family characteristics (family harmony in this research) on family business branding differs between stakeholders. In addition, it expands the scope of the out-group in family firms to embrace all non-family stakeholders and suggests an intergroup opposition between family and non-family stakeholders, which is important for advancing family firm theory.

The impact of family business brand trust and crisis management practices on customer purchase intention during Covid-19

PurposeThe aim of the current study is to investigate the effect of consumers' brand trust in family businesses and the impact of crisis management practices on customer purchase intention during the period of Covid-19.Design/methodology/approachThis is a primary quantitative research on a sample of 817 consumers who bought products from 20 food and beverage family companies. Simple random sampling was used to collect the primary data. Data collection was made with the use of questionnaires. The questionnaires were developed based on previous studies and were tested in terms of reliability and validity.FindingsThe research findings indicate, among others, that there is a positive significant relationship between brand trust and purchase intention. As a result, the higher the trust of the consumers in a family business brand name, the higher their intention to make purchases. Additionally, it was found that the higher the performance of family businesses on crisis management practices, the more the consumers intent to make purchases.Research limitations/implicationsNonetheless, there are some limitations in the current research. First, the research sample consists of companies and consumers from a specific location, which can create issues regarding the generalization of the findings. Thus, to ensure improved research implications, a future research should include sample units from different locations and countries in order to reinforce the research findings and enable comparisons and more easily generalized outcomes. Moreover, a future research could assess additional factors that potentially affect purchase intention within a family business environment. Factors such as human resources and the relationship between customers and companies as well as communication and promotional efforts will allow the creation of a more stable and holistic framework and the prediction of consumer behavior. This potential follow-up research will further contribute to the theoretical argumentation of the findings and highlight the connection among purchase intention, trust and crisis managements practices within the family business environment.Practical implicationsRegarding the managerial and practical implications, the research outcomes can lead to specific strategies related to brand trust and crisis management practices. Specifically, family companies should invest on their brand name and their relationship with the consumers by reinforcing any action which can potentially affect the trust of the consumers. This could be realized by providing a safe purchase environment according to health and safety standards and through their response strategy and adaptability to the current pandemic conditions through the use of crisis management practices. Finally, a practical response to social and physical distancing measures would increase brand trust, and the performance on crisis management practices could also lead to sufficient financial outcomes since all these factors positively affect consumers' purchase intention.Originality/valueThe outbreak of the pandemic directly affected the profitability but also the viability of companies, regardless of industry. In particular, the impact that the pandemic had on family businesses, financially, organizationally and operationally, was massive and in many cases, catastrophic. Several studies have focused on family businesses, analyzing their structure, advantages and disadvantages. However, in these studies, there is little focus on the brand's influence on consumer behavior and market intention, especially compared to nonfamily businesses and under unique circumstances such as those of a pandemic.

Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder: consumers' and jobseekers' interpretations of the family business brand

PurposeBrands are relevant to multiple stakeholders and, as such, can have multiple meanings. Drawing on branding and stakeholder marketing theory, the purpose of this study was to provide in-depth insights into knowledge dynamics related to the so-called family business brand across different stakeholder perspectives.Design/methodology/approachThis study combines advanced brand concept mapping (BCM) with a scenario technique to graphically capture consumers’ and jobseekers’ brand knowledge related to the family business concept in the form of association networks.FindingsFindings show both a shared core meaning (e.g. associations such as “tradition” or “owner-managed”) and stakeholder-specific associations (e.g. consumer perspective: “high product quality,” “handmade”; jobseeker perspective: “appreciation within the company,” “outdated”). Significantly, the results reveal detailed insights into cross-stakeholder knowledge dynamics regarding the associations’ interconnections, strength and favorability.Originality/valueBy combining BCM with a scenario technique, this study adopts an approach that is aimed at better understanding and comparing brand knowledge with respect to the family business brand across multiple stakeholder perspectives. Given the prevalence of family businesses, this research enhances the theoretical and practical understanding of a branding resource that is often available but rarely exploited.

Family Business and Creation of Brand Communities

Background: Brand management is an important factor in every business, especially in family businesses. Through brands, firms can build and communicate their reputation with their stakeholders. For family businesses, revealing the family identity in branding influences both the internal and external stakeholders of the family businesses. There is a lot of evidence that shows the relationship between family businesses and their stakeholders, but limited studies are showing how these family business branding creates a community among its stakeholders. Purpose: The focus of the paper is to identify the variables that influences how family business branding creates communities among its different stakeholders, considering all stakeholders such as customers, employees, suppliers, and society holistically. Methods: The study used a secondary data collection approach based on the family business perspectives found in existing literature on how family businesses contribute to the creation of a community and influence the formation of a brand community. Results: Different studies show the connection between these revelations of family brand identity and the impact on the creation of a community among its stakeholders. Family firms differ from other non-family businesses in the creation of a family firm identity, bringing trust, reputation, image, authenticity, and integrity and influence behavior among internal and external stakeholders.

ANALISIS SISTEM INFORMASI AKUNTANSI PERSEDIAAN BAHAN BAKU DALAM KELANCARAN PROSES PRODUKSI DI MASA PANDEMI

Accounting information system or (AIS) is a system designed to collect and display accounting information so that accountants and company executives can make appropriate decisions and have the aim of processing evidence of recording and reporting all information related to all financial transactions, documents or accounting records. There are several important functions in a working group on accounting information systems, including: storing and collecting data about work activities. Not only that, the information system can also be used to process and transact data into information that can be used to properly control and process decisions related to assets in the organizational system. Omah Teh Nganjuk business which is located on Jl. WR Supratman No.6, Mangundikaran, Mangun Dikaran, Kec. Nganjuk, Nganjuk Regency is the object that we choose in this research. Omah Teh Nganjuk is a family business brand engaged in packaged food and ready-to-drink beverages. Nganjuk tea is an herbal tea made from black tea, green tea, roselle flowers and jasmine flowers which are mixed and combined to make fresh drinks and are useful for health. This study aims to provide information about the accounting information system for raw materials inventory in the Omah Teh Nganjuk business. This research uses qualitative research methods, for data analysis techniques using descriptive analysis with a qualitative approach. Data collection techniques in conducting this research are interviews and observations. Based on the results of the analysis, the implementation of the accounting system for Omah Teh Nganjuk's raw material inventory is very good. The method of determining the cost or inventory cost can also be applied to the company, by choosing the first-in, first-out method. In the smooth production contained in the raw material inventory system in the Omah Teh Nganjuk business, more emphasis is placed on physical inventory counting in order to be able to make fictitious records on the warehouse book, with the separation of functions it can also speed up the production process

The Celebrity Family Endorsement on Instagram Product Advertisement (Case: The Hermansyah)

<p>The main purpose of this study is to analyze the consumer’s perception of single celebrity endorsement and celebrity family endorsement in the context of Instagram advertising. Instagram is selected as the research context due to the application has become a new trend in Asia and there are abundant people who use it as a media for promotion. The object of this research is Anang and Ashanty family business. They are a famous celebrity couple in Indonesia which successfully established numerous product lines, as well as a variety of brands and, interestingly, both Anang and Ashanty (along with their children), are the advertisement models of all of their product in the Instagram. The paper comprises of two separate studies. The first study would use 2 x 2 factorial design to compare the Instagram user’s response towards four stimuli of Instagram advertisements. Two stimuli would depict Instagram advertisement of single celebrity endorser (represents by Ashanty) and the other two stimuli would depict Instagram advertisement of celebrity family endorser (represents by Anang and Ashanty family). The stimulus is taken from the original advertisement from the couple’s product lines which represents by one cake product and one acne cream product. The second study is a consumer’s opinion survey which measures respondent’s opinion towards the advertisements. Based on the survey results of 547 Instagram users in Indonesia, it is revealed that celebrity family advertisement emerged higher than single celebrity advertisement for the acne cream product. Hence, it can be concluded that the consumer does value celebrity family endorsement more than individual or single celebrity endorsement. However, further analysis reveals that the engagement only exists in the initial stage (attention) and the middle stage (desire and search) of consumer’s psychological process to purchase a new product due to all of the advertisement is lacking information about the price.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Family Business Branding, Single Celebrity Endorsement, Celebrity Family Endorsement, Instagram.</p>

Family business identity, consumer product evaluations and firm size

PurposeThis study aims to examine the relationship between family business identity disclosure by firms and consumer product evaluations and the moderating impact, if any, of firm size on this relationship. Toward this end, the study seeks to develop a theoretical explanation for how consumers process family business identity information.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative pre-study was conducted to obtain preliminary evidence that consumers’ perceptions of family businesses originate from both family- and business-based category beliefs. A product evaluation experiment, involving young adult subjects, was used to test the research hypotheses, and the experiment data were analyzed using MANOVA.FindingsThe key finding was that the effect of family business identity disclosure on consumer product evaluations is moderated by firm size.Practical implicationsThis research has implications for businesses seeking to promote their family business identity in branding communications.Originality/valueThis research provides a theoretical account of why consumers might hold different perceptions of family business brands. The interactive effect of firm size and family business identity information disclosure on consumer product evaluations contributes new insight to family business branding.

Romanian family business branding: contextual factors of influence of decisional processes

Abstract Despite the difficulties of the economic environment and the challenges encountered, family businesses in Romania are drivers of economic growth. The tumultuous history and the cultural differences have impacted the way businesses are conducted and how decisions are made, especially in family-run companies, influencing how the family aspect is being portrayed and turned into a competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to determine how these contextual factors are influencing the promotion of the family aspect in the family business brand. The methodology of this paper is the exploratory qualitative interview-based study. Empirical data has been collected by way of in-depth semi-structured interviews with eleven Romanian family business owners or managers selected through non-probability purposive sampling, further analysed using content analysis technique. Results suggest that Romania’s cultural background directly affects family businesses and the way they promote their family image, identity and reputation. Although this has a positive effect, few Romanian family businesses are active and promote themselves on the marketplace as a family business. Romanian families have a high degree of autonomy and accountability in relation to local communities which can help or impede the development of a family brand because both families and communities require transparency and there is a high degree of uncertainty which can impact both the business and the family owners. The reference to current literature primarily relates to the position of the family in the business but most notably to branding. The role of family members is drawn to limit actions in certain aspects of promotion and branding, as a direct result of high-conservative views.