Corporate Responsibility and Communication: Linking Practices and Wealth Creation in Italian Family Business

The paper aims to explore the link between stakeholder management and the communication of Corporate Responsibility (CR), in Italian family business. The research investigates the influence that family culture has on both CR practices and communication programs in 51 Italian family companies of all dimensions. The results suggest that: 1) in Italian family business responsibility is influenced by the characteristics particular to the owner; 2) the attention paid to social and environmental aspects is predominantly an expression of family values rather than the intention to enhance performances. The paper propose a theoretical model that classifies firms by their capability to exploit opportunities deriving from CR and that facilitates the understanding of the different approaches to CR policy and communication.