A Felt Truth: Value Congruence in Family Firms

Abstract

Family firms are known for having a strong culture and shared values, which arise from the ways in which family traditions and dynamics influence the business. Value congruence is known for having positive effects on employees’ affective commitment, which is strongly connected to organisational performance. Thus, one can assume that a strong family influence on a business entails strong congruency between employees’ and firms’ values. To explore this topic in more depth, the present paper employs theoretical strands from family business research and person-organisation-fit theory. To examine the relationship between family influence, value congruence and their effect on affective commitment, this study conducted an online survey among 15 family firms that were categorized according to their family influence. The paper compared firms with weak and strong family influence in terms of employees’ value congruence and their affective commitment, as well as considered potential influencing factors such as leadership, management stewardship, and tenure. Different methods were used to analyse the data. The findings indicate that family firms with a strong family influence have higher levels of perceived value congruence and affective commitment among employees.