The role of family control in affecting the relationship between CEO duality and firm performance before and during the crisis

Using agency theory, stewardship theory and socio-emotional wealth theory perspectives, we examine the relationship between CEO duality and the performance of Italian publicly listed companies over the period 2003–2013. In addition, the role of moderating factors, before and during the recent financial crisis, is investigated. The results, without considering the role of family control as moderating factors, show a negative effect of dual leadership on performance, in line with the point of view of agency theory. However, focusing on family firms only, we observe that family CEO duality increases the performance of firms during the financial and economic crisis. Our study confirms the advantages of family control in a period of crisis and highlights the importance of family firms for Italy.