27th European Conference on Knowledge Management (ECKM 2026)

Family businesses (FB) represent a significant component of socio-economic systems, contributing substantially to employment, value creation, and long-term organizational continuity. The main distinctive element of FB derives from the interaction between family and business value, which influences governance structures, strategic priorities, organizational culture, human resource management practices, and career development opportunities. Despite their economic relevance, limited attention has been devoted to understanding how prospective graduates perceive family firms as potential employers. This study investigates university students’ perceptions of family businesses and examines their propensity to pursue employment in a family firm rather than in a non-family organization. It further aims to identify the principal criteria shaping graduates’ career preferences and to assess the perceived adequacy of university education in preparing students for employment within family-owned enterprises. An exploratory longitudinal research design was adopted, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Data were collected between January and April 2025 and between January and April 2026 through a semi-structured questionnaire administered to students enrolled at different Italian universities and sharing a comparable academic background. The final sample comprised 73 valid responses. The questionnaire included sociodemographic variables, comparative assessments of family and non-family firms, measures of career propensity, and openended questions concerning educational and professional preparation. The research design also identified decision criteria suitable for subsequent analysis through the Analytic Hierarchy Process and Saaty’s pairwise comparison matrix. The findings indicate that students primarily define family businesses in terms of family ownership and managerial control, intergenerational continuity, shared values, and a cohesive organizational environment. However, the results also reveal limited direct professional exposure to family firms, suggesting a potential gap between students’ conceptual understanding and their practical knowledge of this organizational context. The study contributes to the family business and knowledge management literature by providing preliminary evidence on the factors influencing graduates’ employment preferences. It also offers practical implications for universities seeking to strengthen university-to-work transition policies and for family firms aiming to enhance their attractiveness to qualified young professionals. Given the exploratory nature of the research and the limited sample size, further studies should extend the empirical base and validate the proposed analytical framework across different educational and institutional contexts.