Does family ownership benefit non-listed firms? Evidence from family-owned non-listed insurance companies in Thailand

This study investigates the performance of family and non-family firms while isolating the impact of stock market listing in Thailand's non-life insurance industry, where listed and non-listed insurers are comparable in size and age. Results show that family ownership negatively relates to performance among non-listed firms and that non-listed family firms underperform both non-family and listed family firms. Evidence also suggests that non-listed family-owned insurers engage in excessive risk-taking consistent with wealth expropriation. Our findings question the superior performance of family firms often documented in the literature because benefits of stock market listing could potentially be the confounding factors. • Family ownership is negatively related to firm performance in non-listed insurers, which contrasts with findings from studies typically conducted on listed firms. • Non-listed family companies exhibit lower operating performance than both non-family firms and listed family firms, indicating that family ownership alone does not guarantee better performance. • Non-listed family-owned insurers take excessive risk consistent with wealth expropriation behavior. • The results suggest that the positive effects of family ownership depend on external governance mechanisms, such as public listing and regulatory oversight.