How Stakeholder Management Fosters Firm Growth Behaviour: Emerging Patterns from Family Firms that Out-perform Competitors

In this paper we adopt multiple and longitudinal case study research to explore the connections between firm growth and stakeholder management. Through the analysis of five family-owned firms that reached and maintained a leadership position in their respective industries or segments over a long time period, we develop a model showing that outperforming family firms adopt (i) an idiosyncratic growth behaviour and (ii) a hierarchical, dynamic stakeholder management, that are embedded in the leaders’ view of the firm wellbeing as an overarching goal. This article contributes to advancing theory on the strategic management vs. ethics debate and can be a useful guide for managers who are interested in reflecting on goals, values, and beliefs underlying their firm’s growth behaviour.