Using family aspects in the creation of brand elements for online brand communication of family businesses

Abstract

Family businesses are a specific type of enterprise abundantly represented in today’s national economies. They are characterized by the emotional and value involvement of individual family members in the management of the company combined with rational objectives of company management. This behavior of family firms is expressed by the Socioemotional wealth model. In many cases, family values are also reflected in the family firm’s brand communication through brand elements, which is an important part of brand management because it serves as the customer’s first contact with the brand. This article serves as a pilot study to explore online brand communication of family companies in the wine, gastronomy and construction industries. The aim of the pilot study is to define a framework defining the link between brand elements and family aspects used in online brand communication and their joint influence on brand equity. The results show that the wine industry is the only one of the 3 sectors analyzed that uses family aspects in the brand communication of family businesses. The other 2 industries use family aspects in brand communication only to a minimal extent. Furthermore, the results offer possible perspectives on the combination of brand elements and family aspects and their potential influences on each area of brand equity.