A safe haven in times of crisis: The appeal of family companies as employers amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Country Differences in Family Firm Reputation: An Exploration in Germany, India, and the United States

“…By empirically exploring the meaning inherent in “family business” across different cultural contexts, this research makes several contributions to family business literature. Most significantly, this study’s findings contribute to the field of family firm branding and signaling (e.g., Beck & Prügl, 2018) in general and to the emerging debate on the context-sensitivity of family firm perception (e.g., Jaufenthaler, 2023) in particular. We thereby also contribute to the literature on brand reputation (e.g., Keller, 2021) and the value of brand associations to diagnose brand strength (Andreini et al, 2020).…”

“…Specifically, we posit that family firm signals may be more effective in markets, which show a relatively higher score regarding the values long-term orientation, femininity, collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance. Past research has shown that long-term orientation is a quality usually ascribed to family firms (Brigham et al, 2013), that family firms invest more in developing strong personal relationships with stakeholders (Schellong et al, 2019), focus more on organization than individual well-being (Gupta & Kirwan, 2013), and are perceived to be a less risky investment (Lude & Prügl, 2019) as well as a more secure employment opportunity (Jaufenthaler, 2023). Where (one or more of) these perceptions align with the value structure of a population, one would expect the family firm signal to trigger more positive associations than in countries where these qualities are valued less.…”

“…Lately, scholars increasingly address contexts where the signal "family firm" may be risky (Binz Astrachan et al, 2019;Block et al, 2019;Jaufenthaler, 2022Jaufenthaler, , 2023. Within this debate, researchers have repeatedly claimed that the signal "family firm" might be interpreted differently across different cultural contexts and that positive consequences of this signal thus may not accrue globally (Beck et al, 2020;Binz Astrachan & Botero, 2017;Binz Astrachan et al, 2018Block et al, 2016Block et al, , 2019Botero, 2014;Botero et al, 2018;Dos Santos et al, 2020;Jaufenthaler, 2022Jaufenthaler, , 2023Lude & Prügl, 2018;Neubaum, 2018;Shen & Tikoo, 2020).…”

“…Our study adds to the family firm branding literature (e.g., Beck & Prügl, 2018) and the emerging debate about the context-sensitivity of family firm perceptions (Binz Astrachan et al, 2019;Block et al, 2019;Jaufenthaler, 2022Jaufenthaler, , 2023 by investigating the role of the country context in shaping family business reputation. Our association study demonstrates that a family business triggers different clusters of associations in different countries supporting the notion that family firm perception is heterogeneous.…”

“…Lately, scholars increasingly address contexts where the signal “family firm” may be risky (Binz Astrachan et al, 2019; Block et al, 2019; Jaufenthaler, 2022, 2023). Within this debate, researchers have repeatedly claimed that the signal “family firm” might be interpreted differently across different cultural contexts and that positive consequences of this signal thus may not accrue globally (Beck et al, 2020; Binz Astrachan & Botero, 2017; Binz Astrachan et al, 2018, 2019; Block et al, 2016, 2019; Botero, 2014; Botero et al, 2018; Dos Santos et al, 2020; Jaufenthaler, 2022, 2023; Lude & Prügl, 2018; Neubaum, 2018; Shen & Tikoo, 2020). To date, however, we have little knowledge regarding possible differences in perceptions of and associations with family firms across different cultural settings, which may be one reason why few global brands emphasize their family background (Beck et al, 2020).…”