Discussion paper

DP17822 Revisiting Family Firms

I propose a novel measure to identify family firms based on the number of family links between high-ranking co-workers. Leveraging this measure, I reexamine previous findings in the literature and derive five novel facts: (1) Measures of stock ownership misclassify firms with a large family presence. (2) Family-run firms outperform non-family firms. (3) Differences in valuations between family-run and non-family-run firms are amplified by selection. (4) Family-run firms are more cost-effective. (5) Family managers behave myopically. I conclude that failing to consider family links can lead to highly misleading results in the study of family firms.

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Citation

Parise, G (2023), ‘DP17822 Revisiting Family Firms‘, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 17822. CEPR Press, Paris & London. https://cepr.org/publications/dp17822