When formal management practices meet informal governance: family ownership and productivity in UK firms

Abstract This study examines whether family governance moderates the productivity returns to structured management practices. Using combined data from the UK Management and Expectations Survey (MES) and the Annual Respondents Database X (ARDx) and applying a reformulated Mundlak model, we show that structured management practices are positively associated with labour productivity, but that family ownership significantly weakens their long-run productivity returns. This negative moderating effect is stronger for incentives-related and target-setting practices and is more pronounced among small and medium-sized enterprises and service-sector firms. Overall, our findings highlight execution credibility as a central mechanism linking firm governance structures to the economic returns of formal management systems.