Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work

We develop a new survey instrument to codify CEOs’ diaries in large samples and use it to measure the labor supply of 1,114 family and professional CEOs of manufacturing firms across six countries (Brazil, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States). By this measure, family CEOs work 9% fewer hours relative to professional CEOs. Difference in differences estimates with respect to the opportunity cost of leisure reveal that the pattern we observe is consistent with differences in preferences for leisure, rather than optimal responses to differences in technology or organization correlated with ownership. Differences in labor supply are larger in countries where inheritance laws favor wealth concentration and are correlated with differences in firm performance.