Can a family business image be a source of competitive advantage?

Abstract

Given the positive reputation of family businesses amongst consumers, it is widely suggested that their family firm identity could potentially be a source of competitive advantage for family firms. Considering a sample of 321 Dutch family businesses, this study does not find sufficient support for the relationship between having a family firm image and better firm performance. Taking into account the market focus of a firm (i.e. B2B vs B2C) as a moderator, the findings suggest that the family firm image-firm performance relationship could be positive for B2C firms, and negative for B2B firms, although this is not fully supported. The findings also indicate that second-or-later generation firms will benefit more from a family firm image than first-generation firms.