Abstract
Framing of the research. Family business literature has extensively investigated the role played by CEO identity (i.e., family vs. nonfamily CEO). A relatively limitedly explored area of research considers the influence that CEO identity has on the external stakeholders’ perception of family firms’ brand.
Purpose of the paper. This study extends research on family firms’ heterogeneity by exploring the role of CEO identity in relation to the way external stakeholders talk about the brand of the family firm s/he leads - i.e., brand importance.
Methodology. Using text mining and social network analysis techniques, we analyze 52,555 news articles published in 2017 about 63 Italian family firms.
Results. Results demonstrate a positive relation between the presence of a nonfamily CEO managing the family firm and brand importance, which is negatively moderated by firm’s longevity.
Research limitations. First, not all online news is readily and openly accessible. This limits our study to be crosssectional and we thus do not assert causation. Second, the data used in our empirical study are from Italy, which may restrict the generalizability of our findings.
Managerial implications. Our results highlight that family firms get benefits in terms of brand importance attributed by stakeholders when being led by a nonfamily CEO. Nevertheless, the presence of a nonfamily CEO is preferable only for less long-lived family firms.
Originality of the paper. This study contributes to research on family firms’ heterogeneity by offering an alternative perspective on the influence of family leadership on external stakeholders’ perception of family firm brands.