The distinctiveness of family firm intangibles

Abstract

It is generally accepted that intangibles are essential drivers for the value and performance of the firm. There are furthermore certain family factors that have been suggested to influence the performance of family businesses. Adding the two together, the presence of distinct family intangible resources might explain why some family firms outperform non-family firms while others do not. Until recent, there are only a few articles that have studied intangible resources in a family firm context. Using an intangibles framework could however be a valuable addition to the resource-based view. This paper therefore proposes an intangible approach as a tool to examine how family specific intangible resources and their interactions can provide family firms with a sustained competitive advantage. In studying this research question, we shed light on some family firm advantages that not received much attention in family firm research so far.