An in-depth analysis of family effect through family business reputation: asset or liability?

To date studies have mainly focused on "How" familiness is generated and "What" is familiness. Scarse attention is still dedicated to analyze the role palyed by the family in the firm or, in other words, who generates familiness. Through the embedded multiple case study, the aim of the present study is to examine when the family effect can rise as an asset, as a critical resource for the business, and as such express a source of competitive advantage, or as a liability, causing value destruction for the family business. Consequently, the research aim is "When does family involvement contribute to building and strengthening familiness and thus represent an asset?". The response to this query emerges from the construct "entrepreneurial family reputation", the significance ascribed over time by different stakeholders to the name-identity of a family. That is to understand the role played by the family in the value crestion process through the family reputation in social context