Abstract
Recent studies have established that non-family CEOs invariably outperform family CEOs. In this paper, we argue that the case against family CEOs could be overstated. Applying a contingency theory, we propose that the growth stage of the firm and management practice domains moderate the influence of CEO type on firm performance. Using the dataset of 1288 family firms collected as part of the World Management Survey, we find support for most of the hypotheses. Finally, we draw attention to the conceptual and practical implications of our findings.