Does family ownership shape performance outcomes?

This paper analyses the effect of family ownership on performance in an emerging economy. Two dimensions represent family ownership: ownership concentration and characteristics of family control (i.e. family involvement in the board of directors). The study also includes the effect of firm institutional relatedness on performance, meaning the degree of informal embeddedness or interconnectedness with dominant institutions. The empirical analysis uses a data set of publicly traded Chilean firms from 2000 and 2003. The evidence indicates that performance depends on ownership concentration and that family control and institutional relatedness also have a significant effect.