Organizational Authenticity in Family Firms: The Alignment of Exposed Values and Realized Practices

Looking at the future while constantly protecting the own roots and traditions is critical for family firms. Within this strong tension between preservation and adaptation, I identified the concept of organizational authenticity and its evolution over time as extraordinarily important for family firms. The main purpose of this study is to reconceptualize organizational authenticity and theorize the process through which it unfolds in the family business setting, unpacking how organizational authenticity is generated, preserved and transferred across generations. I use an inductive, case-study analysis within a specific field, the wine industry, with a sample composed by six long established family firms located in Valpolicella, a vinicultural zone in the province of Verona. Through my research, I expect to develop a process model, aimed to unpack the different patterns of authenticity generation, maintenance and transfer.