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To be or not to be a family firm: An exploration of identity management in business families
Jönköping University, Jönköping International Business School, JIBS, Centre for Family Entrepreneurship and Ownership (CeFEO). Center of Expertise in Family Business, Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands.
2023 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This dissertation comprises of a cover and four separate articles, which, together, aim to advance understanding of identity processes in family firms, specifically regarding the connection of family and firm identity. This connection can have advantages and disadvantages for both the family and the firm. However, identities, whether on individual, group or organizational level, are not static, so there is no reason to assume that the connection between the identities in family firms is static.

With the goal to explore how and why business families manage the identity connection between family and firm, a longitudinal case study was conducted in which 13 family firms in the hospitality sector in the Netherlands participated. The analysis is anchored in the related theoretical concepts of identity and reputation and literature from the field of psychology.

The review of the family firm literature in paper 1 shows that reputation can be seen as a key construct from various perspectives and that it is strongly connected to family firm literature about identity, goal setting, and the behavior of family firms. The empirical findings in paper 2, 3, and 4 show that a family firm identity, and the maintenance of the connection between family and firm, can have a profound effect on identity processes on individual, family and firm level. Perceived incongruences within and between these levels are incentives for owners to renegotiate how these levels are connected, although this does not have to be a conscious process. This renegotiation can include a change in identity to restore congruence. Perceptions about both external and internal stakeholders play a very important part in the degree to which and the way in which owners connect the family identity to the firm identity. Six interrelated dimensions of identity connection management were identified.

The dissertation contributes to the family firm literature by offering explanations for the management of the identity connection on the level of firm, family and individual family members and to the corporate communications literature by highlighting the influence of the family on communication decisions and vice versa.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Jönköping: Jönköping University, Jönköping International Business School , 2023. , p. 141
Series
JIBS Dissertation Series, ISSN 1403-0470 ; 156
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-62670ISBN: 978-91-7914-027-4 (print)ISBN: 978-91-7914-028-1 (electronic)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-62670DiVA, id: diva2:1805102
Public defence
2023-10-20, B1014, Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping, 13:15 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2023-10-16 Created: 2023-10-16 Last updated: 2023-10-16Bibliographically approved
List of papers
1. Corporate reputation and the family business
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Corporate reputation and the family business
2015 (English)In: Theoretical perspectives on family businesses / [ed] Mattias Nordqvist, Leif Melin, Matthias Waldkirch and Gershon Kumeto, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015, p. 233-252Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Corporate reputation is a largely neglected topic in the family firm literature. That neglect is surprising because corporate reputation is found to be an important source of competitive advantage and can therefore be an explanatory factor for firm performance and behaviour. The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to the field of family business by demonstrating the potential of the reputation research in this field. The chapter first introduces the corporate reputation construct and how this construct and the related constructs of image and reputation capital are approached in the literature from different disciplines. The second part of the chapter provides a review of the current family business literature on this topic. Three approaches of corporate reputation have been identified: 1. Reputation of family firms as an assessment by stakeholders. 2. Reputation as a managerial goal to preserve socioemotional wealth. 3. Reputation as a communication goal or strategy of family firms. The discussion of the literature identifies major gaps in our knowledge and in our methodological orientation that represent opportunities for future research.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015
Keywords
family firms, corporate reputation, image, identity, reputation capital
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-34248 (URN)10.4337/9781783479665.00020 (DOI)9781783479658 (ISBN)9781783479665 (ISBN)
Available from: 2016-12-09 Created: 2016-12-09 Last updated: 2023-10-16Bibliographically approved
2. “Who am I? Who are we?”: Understanding the impact of family business identity on the development of individual and family identity in business families
Open this publication in new window or tab >>“Who am I? Who are we?”: Understanding the impact of family business identity on the development of individual and family identity in business families
2019 (English)In: The Journal of Family Business Strategy, ISSN 1877-8585, E-ISSN 1877-8593, Vol. 10, no 1, p. 38-48Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Family firms incorporate two identities, namely the identity of the firm and the identity of the family. Previous literature assumes that the owning family influences the identity of the firm by transferring the values and beliefs of the owners to the firm. However, identity theory suggests that identity formation is a dynamic process, based on iterations with the environment and interpretations of the past identity. In family firms this means that identity of the family can also be influenced by the firm. In this longitudinal study of a multi-generational family firm, we draw from identity literature to explore how the interplay between the business and the family identity can take place in a family firm. Our observations suggest that the identity of the firm can influence identity processes on various levels and that this is not necessarily beneficial for the family. Our study thus contributes to the understanding of identity issues in family firms. 
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2019
Keywords
Business family, Case study, Family firms, Identity
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-43338 (URN)10.1016/j.jfbs.2019.01.006 (DOI)000469307100006 ()2-s2.0-85062084651 (Scopus ID);intsam;1296007 (Local ID);intsam;1296007 (Archive number);intsam;1296007 (OAI)
Note

Special Issue: "From Family Identity to Family Firm Image and Reputation: Exploring Facets of the Perception of Family Influence in Branding, Marketing, and Other Messaging"

Available from: 2019-03-13 Created: 2019-03-13 Last updated: 2023-10-16Bibliographically approved
3. Revealing the family firm identity? Not everything is about the family or the firm
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Revealing the family firm identity? Not everything is about the family or the firm
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-62668 (URN)
Note

An earlier version was presented at the online EIASM Workshop on Family Firm Management Research (2021) and the online IFERA conference (2021).

Available from: 2023-10-16 Created: 2023-10-16 Last updated: 2023-10-16
4. Identity change in family firms to cope with an exogenous shock: The role of cognitive dissonance
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Identity change in family firms to cope with an exogenous shock: The role of cognitive dissonance
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-62669 (URN)
Note

An earlier version was presented at the IFERA conference (2022) in Santander, Spain.

Available from: 2023-10-16 Created: 2023-10-16 Last updated: 2023-10-16

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Wielsma, Albertha

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