Family ownership is an important theme in corporate governance research, particularly concerning its influence on long-term firm performance and resilience. The purpose of this study was to examine how family ownership, including founder involvement, affects financial performance and corporate behavior in publicly listed firms across Scandinavia from 2007 to 2023. The study was based on the theory of agency and stewardship, and a quantitative panel data methodology was followed using Random Effects regressions with firm-clustered standard errors. Key financial variables were winsorized and transformed to address non-stationarity, and models included crisis-period interactions and cross-country comparisons. The findings show that family firms significantly outperformed non-family firms in terms of Total Shareholder Return (TSR), with the premium holding steady during both the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, founder-family firms did not consistently outperform other family firms, and no substantial differences were found in how family and non-family firms adjusted dividends, capital expenditures, or leverage during downturns. The family-firm premium was strongest in Norway and weakest in Sweden, highlighting the role of institutional context. Organizations and investors can use these findings to appreciate the long-term orientation and resilience associated with family ownership while reconsidering the presumed advantages of founder leadership during periods of financial distress.