Author(s):	Mario Daniele Amore, Valerio Pelucco, Fabio Quarato
Publication Date:	May 2020
Keyword(s):	CEOs, COVID-19, Family Business, Financial Performance
JEL(s):	D10, G34
Programme Areas:	Financial Economics, Industrial Organization
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=14759

Prompted by the shakeup of Covid-19 on financial markets, scholars have begun to explore the corporate traits that can make firms more resilient to a pandemic. In this paper, we test how the involvement of families in ownership and governance positions influences the financial performance of Italian listed firms during the spread of Covid-19. Our results indicate that firms with controlling family shareholders fared significantly better than other firms in the pandemic period. This effect is particularly pronounced among firms in which a family is both the controlling shareholder and holds the CEO position. Collectively, our results expand existing knowledge on the determinants of organizational resilience in the wake of adverse events.