Romanian family business branding: contextual factors of influence of decisional processes

Despite the difficulties of the economic environment and the challenges encountered, family businesses in Romania are drivers of economic growth. The tumultuous history and the cultural differences have impacted the way businesses are conducted and how decisions are made, especially in family-run companies, influencing how the family aspect is being portrayed and turned into a competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to determine how these contextual factors are influencing the promotion of the family aspect in the family business brand. The methodology of this paper is the exploratory qualitative interview-based study. Empirical data has been collected by way of in-depth semi-structured interviews with eleven Romanian family business owners or managers selected through non-probability purposive sampling, further analysed using content analysis technique. Results suggest that Romania’s cultural background directly affects family businesses and the way they promote their family image, identity and reputation. Although this has a positive effect, few Romanian family businesses are active and promote themselves on the marketplace as a family business. Romanian families have a high degree of autonomy and accountability in relation to local communities which can help or impede the development of a family brand because both families and communities require transparency and there is a high degree of uncertainty which can impact both the business and the family owners. The reference to current literature primarily relates to the position of the family in the business but most notably to branding. The role of family members is drawn to limit actions in certain aspects of promotion and branding, as a direct result of high-conservative views.