Choosing the right company name is challenging and may have major consequences for firm prospects. Drawing on the strategic conformity literature, we investigate the implications of “nonconforming” company names, i.e. foreign sounding and family-unrelated, for family firms’ performance. Consistent with the idea that such names endow the business with greater visibility and recognition, we find that nonconforming names are positively associated with financial performance. This association is stronger when the firm operates in an industry with a low share of nonconforming peers and a high share of eponymous peers, in a crowded product class, and is smaller than industry peers. Collectively, our analysis provides new evidence on the strategic implications of company names.

选择正确的公司名称具有挑战性，并且可能对公司前景产生重大影响。借鉴战略整合文献，我们研究了“不合格”公司名称（即听起来很外国且与家族无关）对家族企业绩效的影响。与此类名称赋予企业更大的知名度和认可度的想法相一致，我们发现不合格的名称与财务绩效呈正相关。当公司所处的行业中不合格同行所占比例较低、同名同行所占比例较高、产品类别拥挤且规模小于行业同行时，这种关联性会更强。总的来说，我们的分析为公司名称的战略影响提供了新的证据。