--- title: When Being a Family Business Becomes a Competitive Advantage description: "How family businesses can embrace their \"familiness\" to leverage strategic competitive advantage through trusted relationships." image: https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/hubfs/NEW%20Family%20business%20HBR%20article%20-%20blog%20banner.png --- [![Marques-SoM](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/CGMD%20Blog/Images/CGMD%20Images/Logos/Marques-SoM.png?width=1&name=Marques-SoM.png)](http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som) [![Marques-SoM](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Marques-SoM.png?width=85&name=Marques-SoM.png)](http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som)   - [Home](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge) - Featured - [CEO Summit](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/ceo-summit-2021) - Categories - [Changing World of Work](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/changing-world-of-work) - [Digital Transformation](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/digital-transformation) - [Economics](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/economics) - [Entrepreneurship](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/entrepreneurship) - [Finance and Accounting](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/finance-and-accounting) - [Implementation](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/implementation) - [Leadership](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/leadership) - [Logistics and Supply Chain](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/logistics-and-supply-chain) - [Organisational Behaviour](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/topic/organisational-behaviour) - [Organisational Resilience](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/topic/organisational-resilience) - [Strategic Marketing and Sales](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/strategic-marketing-and-sales) - [Strategy](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/strategy) - [Sustainability](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/sustainability) - [Executive Development](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/executive-development) - Content - [Articles](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/article) - [Whitepapers](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/whitepaper) - [eBooks](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/ebook) - [Podcasts](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/podcast) - [Webinars](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/webinar) - [Videos](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/video) - Programmes - [Open Programmes ↗](https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/open-executive-programmes) - [Customised Programmes ↗](https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/executive-development/consultancy-and-custom-solutions) - [MBA Programmes ↗](https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/cranfield-mba-programmes) - [Master's Apprenticeships ↗](https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/management-and-leadership-masterships) - [The Blog](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/execdev) [![JOIN THE KNOWLEDGE HUB](https://hubspot-no-cache-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/417879/b9b69d4d-7ced-4ee8-bd11-b66d3bd4d1b7.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/417879/b9b69d4d-7ced-4ee8-bd11-b66d3bd4d1b7) ### Subscribe you blog for exclusive insights. ![](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/hubfs/NEW%20Family%20business%20HBR%20article%20-%20blog%20banner.png) read # When Being a Family Business Becomes a Competitive Advantage By Professor Vasilis Theoharakis ##### Family businesses can leverage unique advantages to create relational capital that is difficult for competitors to imitate.   ---   This article published in Harvard Business Review explores how trust, long-term commitment, and multigenerational relationships that naturally arise between family-run businesses - what researchers call 'familiness' - is frequently underestimated or treated as a weakness to overcome. In fact, if family businesses intentionally leverage their identity to build deeper relationships with other family-owned partners, they unlock a powerful strategic advantage.     > "Family businesses often underestimate the strategic power of their familial identity, defaulting instead to corporate models that erode the trust and long-term relationships that set them apart. A Family-to-Family (F2F) strategy reframes customers and suppliers as multigenerational partners, strengthening loyalty, speeding decision-making, and fuelling innovation in ways competitors struggle to replicate." Read the full article here:   [![READ ARTICLE](https://hubspot-no-cache-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/417879/9ef9fd73-038a-442d-adc1-d9157de9d82c.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/417879/9ef9fd73-038a-442d-adc1-d9157de9d82c)   **Notes** This article was published in [Harvard Business Review](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/hubfs/Harvard%20Business%20Review%20article%20-%20Family%20Business.pdf), 7 January 2026. ---   Authors [Professor Vasilis Theoharakis](https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/people/professor-vasilis-theoharakis-25675725)- Professor of Strategic Marketing at Cranfield School of Management Armodios Yannidis - CEO, Vitex Josh Baron - Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School Moe Khant -Thu - Doctoral Researcher, Cranfield University   Tags: [entrepreneurship](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/entrepreneurship), [article](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/article), [BGP](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/bgp) ### Related Articles ## [The Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Key Account Management](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/the-adoption-of-artificial-intelligence-in-key-account-management) *( read )* Topics: [entrepreneurship](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/entrepreneurship), [article](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/article), [BGP](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/bgp) ## [The Reality Behind the Headlines: Women directors still face a glass ceiling](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/women-directors-still-face-a-glass-ceiling) *( read )* Topics: [entrepreneurship](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/entrepreneurship), [article](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/article), [BGP](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/bgp) ## [The Art and Science of Next-Gen Leadership Development](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/the-art-and-science-of-next-gen-leadership-development) *( read )* Topics: [entrepreneurship](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/entrepreneurship), [article](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/article), [BGP](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/knowledge/tag/bgp) [![New call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/417879/a081af44-84bf-4c5e-98c9-4177ac9010d4.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/417879/a081af44-84bf-4c5e-98c9-4177ac9010d4)    [![New call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/417879/adb88df3-026a-4d9f-a6f7-89dac05629a1.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/417879/adb88df3-026a-4d9f-a6f7-89dac05629a1) [![cranfieldexecutivedevelopmentlogo](https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/cranfieldexecutivedevelopmentlogo.png?width=300&name=cranfieldexecutivedevelopmentlogo.png)](https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/executive-development) - - - - - - © Cranfield Management Development Ltd - **[execdev@cranfield.ac.uk](mailto:execdev@cranfield.ac.uk)  ·  [+44 (0)1234 754500](tel:+44%20(0)%201234%20754500)**  ·  [Privacy Policy](https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/privacy-policy)