Focusing on the case of a successful French pharmaceutical family firm – VetCo, we develop a process model of family firm identity maintenance by non-family members. Being the first family-owned pharmaceutical actor exclusively dedicated to animal health worldwide, VetCo has a strong family firm identity. The maintenance of this identity is remarkable, as VetCo experienced a withdrawal of the owning family when its founder suddenly passed away and, later on, when other family members disengaged from operations. Using grounded theory, we build a process model of identity maintenance that emphasizes meaning multiplicity. Specifically, we identify three main mechanisms of meaning preservation – passing on the family legacy, unifying the metaphorical family and modelling the family business – and two mechanisms of meaning connection – holding on and bridging. In elaborating theory on family firm identity maintenance, this study contributes to family business and organizational identity scholarships.
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