They Are Not All the Same! Investigating the Effect of Executive versus Non-executive Family Board Members on Firm Performance

Drawing on faultlines and challenging the assumption that family board members form a homogenous subgroup, we hypothesize that the distinction between executive and non-executive family board members can create faultlines that affect firm performance. We propose that the discrepancy between results and goals can activate and exacerbate faultlines. Using a sample of 421 family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we find a U-shaped relationship between the ratio of family executive board members and firm performance showing the consequences of relationship-based and task-related faultlines. Moreover, we find that the U-shaped relationship occurs when firms perceive that they under-achieve their objectives, whereas a reverse J-shaped relationship appears when firms over-achieve their objectives.