How do external audiences perceive your brand? The role of family vs nonfamily CEOs and firm generation

This study extends research on family firms’ heterogeneity by exploring the role of family vs nonfamily CEOs in relation to the way external audiences talk about the brand of the family firm s/he leads – i.e., brand importance. Drawing on text mining and social network analysis techniques, and considering the brand prevalence, diversity, and connectivity dimensions, we use the semantic brand score to measure the importance that external audiences give to family firm brands. The analysis of a sample of 63 Italian family firms reveals a negative relationship between family CEOs and brand importance, and a positive moderating effect of firm generation. This study advances literature by providing an alternative perspective on how family vs nonfamily CEOs influence external audiences’ perception of family firms’ brand.