Is Social Capital Perceived as a Source of Competitive Advantage or Disadvantage for Family Firms? An Exploratory Analysis of CEO Perceptions

Abstract

Although psychological perspectives suggest that executives’ perceptions do matter when it comes to predict the outcomes of strategic processes, little research has dealt with CEO perceptions in family firms. In this article we focus on the social capital resources of family firms and investigate which resources are perceived as competitive (dis)advantages and which factors affect the differences in perceptions among family firms’ CEOs. We rely on a multiple case study that involved seven family firms operating in the transportation industry. The case study analysis shows that a number of advantages and disadvantages are commonly perceived by family business CEOs in relation to both internal and external dimensions of social capital and that difference in perceptions exist related to the social influences produced by interactions between family and business.

Keywords

family firms social capital CEO perceptions competitive advantages competitive disadvantages emotional attachment

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