arbiter
JournalsAccount

When Family Firm Reputation Backfires: The Role of Controllability in Consumer Responses to Negative CSR Incidents

Philipp Jaufenthaler et al.

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice2026https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587251406322article
FT50AJG 4*ABDC A*
Weight
0.50

Abstract

We apply attribution theory to examine how family ownership status shapes consumer attitudes toward companies after negative corporate social responsibility incidents, focusing on incident controllability. Two longitudinal experiments reveal that, when controllability is unknown , consumers infer lower controllability for family firms and thus hold more favorable attitudes toward them than non-family firms. However, when controllability is known , low-controllability incidents lead to similar attitudes across firm types, whereas high-controllability incidents reverse the effect, resulting in more negative attitudes toward family firms than non-family firms. These findings challenge the prevailing assumption that family firms consistently benefit from their reputation and inform stakeholder communication strategies.

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587251406322

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{philipp2026,
  title        = {{When Family Firm Reputation Backfires: The Role of Controllability in Consumer Responses to Negative CSR Incidents}},
  author       = {Philipp Jaufenthaler et al.},
  journal      = {Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587251406322},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

When Family Firm Reputation Backfires: The Role of Controllability in Consumer Responses to Negative CSR Incidents

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.