Two years ago, the World Management Survey on organizational leadership reported that firms led by family CEOs (managers related to the family owning the business) are often managed badly, particularly those where a first-born son has inherited the role of CEO from the previous leader.

Now comes additional research showing that on average, family CEOs also work significantly fewer hours per week than other (nonfamily affiliated) CEOs. It’s an important finding because longer working hours are associated with higher firm productivity and growth, says Raffaella Sadun, an assistant professor in the Strategy unit at Harvard Business School who studies the curious relationship between managerial incentives and motivation.

This article was published by Harvard Business School Working Knowledge on 27 January 2014. Link to full article

Related publications:

Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work? by Oriana Bandiera (LSE) Andrea Prat (Columbia) Raffaella Sadun (HBS).