171073 20260505142650.0 doi 10.1002/mde.70107 sideral 149146 ART-2026-149146 eng Ortiz, Javier Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-2114-5033 Professionalization as a Factor of Heterogeneity in Family and Nonfamily Firms: Effects on Performance 2026 This study examines the relationship between firm ownership and organizational performance with a focus on heterogeneity in the professionalization of management. Using a comprehensive panel dataset of Spanish manufacturing firms, the study identifies significant ownership‐ and management model‐related differences in productive efficiency. The results reveal that while family firms are marginally less productive than nonfamily firms, professionalized management substantially enhances their performance, putting it above that of professionally managed nonfamily firms. The results indicate that external management effectively addresses agency problems and mitigates asymmetrical altruism issues in family firms while simultaneously leveraging their inherent strengths, such as concentrated ownership and alignment of interests. As such, the best outcomes are achieved by combining family ownership and professionalized management. This conclusion underscores the importance of accounting for both ownership structure and heterogeneity in management models in the study of firm efficiency. Additionally, these insights have practical economic implications, suggesting that the strategic separation of ownership and management could unlock new avenues to improve organizational performance. Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PID2020-113338RB-I00 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/S42-23R-CREVALOR info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/UZ/JIUZ2024-CSJ-03 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Gargallo-Castel, Ana F. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-8054-8997 4012 650 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Direcc.Organiza.Empresas Área Organización de Empresas (2026), [16 pp.] MDE. Manage. decis. econ. (Print) MDE. Managerial and decision economics 0143-6570 355557 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/171073/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2393788 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/171073/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:171073 articulos driver 2026-05-05-13:37:10 ARTICLE