ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on familial relationships as positive resources endogenous to organizations. It examines how multigenerational family relationships may be created in, and displayed by, organizations to create "positive" identity; that is, an identity that is attractive, legitimate, or desirable that serves as a touchstone for customer, employee, and that legitimates its products and services. The chapter proposes that familial relationships can confer an organization identity, when the family of the founder, CEO, or other iconic firm figure is displayed as part of the identity of the organization. It offers a conceptual framework for theorizing family as a positive and endogenous resource for organizations. Familial relationships can serve as a productive resource for firms, both strategically and symbolically, shoring up the vitality of the firm and legitimating its enterprises. Familial relationships, like all social relations among persons, are a form of social capital.
