ABSTRACT
PurposeThe present paper aims at exploring effective business model adaptations in response to unexpected events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test the effect of two major business model adaptations, namely changes in the value proposition and changes in the target market, on a sample of 96 family SMEs.FindingsResults show that only changes in the value proposition had a positive and significant impact on performance, helping family SMEs to better confront COVID-19. However, this effect is reduced in the case of target market change.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to investigate how business model adaptations in family SMEs affect performance in crisis situations.