Identity of the Family Business Company. How Do the Most Valuable Polish Family-Owned Companies Use Family Identity in Building the Image of a Family-Owned Company?

Katarzyna Barcińska, Ewa Więcek-Janka

Abstract


Theoretical background: In Poland, family-owned companies have been actively developing since the democratic transformation. Some of them have used market conditions, being mature and large entities, consciously building their corporate brand identities, and communicating their messages on their websites. A lot of them are faced with a strategic decision whether to build a brand based on the family-owned type of brand, as encouraged by associations, foundations as well, and the media, whose goal is to support and integrate family-owned companies.

Purpose of the article: This article aims to explore the way in which the most valuable Polish family-owned companies that decided to be presented in the Forbes ranking in September 2023 communicate the identity of the family firm on their website and to fid out if there is any pattern or model of communication.

Research methods: Fifty websites from 100 family businesses classifid in the Forbes magazine ranking of the most valuable Polish family-owned companies with revenues exceeding PLN 100 million, published in September 2023, were examined, diagnosing elements indicating the adoption of the brand identity of a family business. The criteria for building the family business brand for Polish companies were developed with the participation of 12 experts in the field of family business.

Main findings: A model was constructed to identify the family identity of the brand of the family-owned company using family-owned websites. The results of the research indicate that the percentage of family-owned companies among the most precious family owned companies which are defied as family owned companies is higher than that indicated in the reports as of 2009 and 2017 for small and medium companies in Poland.


Keywords


family-owned company; brand identity; behaviour and communication of the richest Polish family-owned firms

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/h.2024.58.3.249-274
Date of publication: 2024-07-12 06:50:19
Date of submission: 2024-04-28 17:50:20


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