Disentangling governance talk from governance substance: Family firms, AI-related disclosure intensity, and governance decoupling

Governance disclosure in family firms reflects a trade-off between external demands for transparency and family owners’ concerns for control, reputation, and continuity. Building on socioemotional wealth theory, this study examines whether family firms differ from non-family firms in governance disclosure–performance alignment and whether AI-related disclosure intensity is associated with this alignment. We conceptualize governance decoupling as the gap between governance disclosure and governance performance and distinguish two directional forms: positive governance decoupling, where governance disclosure exceeds governance performance, and negative governance decoupling, where governance performance exceeds governance disclosure. Using a longitudinal panel of French SBF 120 firms over 2007–2022, we show that family firms display higher positive governance decoupling and lower negative governance decoupling than non-family firms. AI-related disclosure intensity is associated with directional shifts in governance decoupling, but these shifts differ across ownership structures. In non-family firms, AI-related disclosure intensity is associated with higher positive decoupling and lower negative decoupling, suggesting that AI-related reporting may reinforce governance disclosure relative to governance performance. In family firms, this pattern is attenuated for positive decoupling and redirected toward higher negative decoupling, suggesting that family ownership changes how AI-related disclosure intensity is associated with governance disclosure–performance alignment. Additional analyses show that governance controversy exposure conditions these relationships. Our findings show that governance disclosure–performance alignment should be examined directionally and that the governance implications of AI-related disclosure intensity depend on family ownership and external scrutiny.