Innovation and internationalisation during times of economic growth, crisis, and recovery prior to Covid-19: A configurational approach comparing Spanish manufacturing family and non-family firms

Based primarily on the Resource-Based View and prior evidence, this study gauges the potential differences in innovative behaviour between international family firms and non-family firms when conditions change drastically in the business environment (i.e. from a situation of economic growth to one of downturn, and then to recovery). The research setting is a large sample of Spanish manufacturing firms between 2007 and 2016 (i.e. pre-Covid-19). During this period (2009-2013), the global economic and financial crisis affected Spain. Thus, three sub-periods are distinguished in the empirical analysis: growth, crisis, and recovery. Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis, our findings show that the paths of innovation activities that promote internationalisation via exporting in family and non-family firms are somewhat dissimilar in each sub-period, supporting the argument that the causal effect of innovation on internationalisation is heavily dependent on environmental conditions. Compared to non-family firms, our results show that when family firms internationalise, they follow a wide variety and more stable number of paths in innovation activities. Our findings also provide additional evidence to support the argument of heterogeneity among family firms.

Socioemotional wealth of family firms during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of slack resources

Purpose: This study investigates the behaviour of family firms, family management and family ownership regarding their socioemotional wealth (Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)) during the COVID-19 pandemic and according to their slack resources availability. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs a multiple regression analysis to analyse 245 firm-year observations from 2020 to 2021. Findings: Family firms have a negative effect on CSR, as do family management and family ownership. Slack resources (both absorbed and unabsorbed) reduce the negative effect of family firms (and family ownership) on CSR. Unabsorbed slack resources reduce the negative effect of family management on CSR and absorbed slack resources increase the negative effect of family management on CSR. The results are robust with various measurements of slack resources. Extra analyses reveal that family commissioner has no effect on CSR. Originality/value: To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first empirical study to analyse the impact of COVID-19 on the preservation of socioemotional wealth in family firms. This study proves the theoretical argument of prior studies that the preservation of socioemotional wealth in family firms during the COVID-19 pandemic depends on their financial condition. The study also proves that there are different attitudes among family ownership, family management and family firms concerning the use of slack resources for socioemotional wealth preservation that have not been analysed by previous research. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Playing the wild cards: Antecedents of family firm resilience

The purpose of this study is to explore how family firms respond to wild cards. We aim to capture the under-standing of family firm owners/managers of what wild cards are in terms of frequency, kind, and impact. We also examine how familiness and entrepreneurial orientation form the resilience and survival of family firms when facing wild cards. The scope of our attention is limited to extreme events so far overlooked in the family firm resilience literature, and the empirical context of our study involves the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings show that the response to wild cards depends on the understanding of those extreme situations that family firms managers/owners develop. Deep time horizon is relevant in developing a useful understanding of wild cards, and generational involvement helps to socially construct it. After developing an understanding, family firm man-agers/owners use decision making preferences in selecting their response to wild cards. Our study offers a behavioral take on family firms resilience, and provides a fine grained view incorporating behavioral constructs.

Are family owners and managers good stewards in global crises? Evidence from stock market reactions to Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic as a truly global crisis has shown the importance of firm resilience in times of crisis. Yet, so far, we lack an understanding of the role of firm ownership and management in building this resilience. Based on stewardship theory, we posit that family management and ownership help firms to navigate through a global crisis. To test our predictions, we analyze how Covid-related negative events affect the stock market reactions of 300 German listed firms and how family ownership and management moderate these effects. Our cross-sectional regression results show a positive effect of family management while no such effect was found for family ownership. We contribute to the research on family involvement and stewardship in crisis situations by showing that family ownership and management constitute distinct determinants of stewardship behavior and by bringing a context element into family business stewardship research that was missing so far in the literature. Practical implications exist for family firm's top management employment policies and capital market communication in crisis situations.

COVID and challenges in the context of family firms internationalisation: a review and emerging research pathways

Purpose-This study aims to fulfil a twofold purpose: first, to discuss the changes and unique challenges that family firms (FFs) face during the COVID-19 pandemic and/or they will face in the post-COVID era, and second, to reflect on emerging research directions and contextual factors that should be taken into account in future explorations for the benefit of FF scholars who will study post-COVID FF internationalisation. Design/methodology/approach-To address the twofold purpose of the study, we conduct an integrative review of 31 peer-reviewed journal articles in the international business (IB) and FF literature on COVID-19, FFs and internationalisation. Findings-COVID-19 brought changes in IB strategies, IB relationships and human resource management. In responding and/or adapting to those changes, during and post-COVID, FFs face and are expected to face challenges that mainly refer to FFs' transition to digitalisation and the simultaneous preservation of socio-emotional wealth dimensions while maintaining their international presence. The authors suggest that future research explores the role of digitalisation in achieving FFs' internationalisation, IB relationship building activities and training and leading international employees. Further contextual factors (e.g. succession issues, family structures) should also be accounted for when exploring such post-COVID IB phenomena. Originality/value-This study comprises an initial attempt to encompass the interface of FF internationalisation and COVID-19. It also proposes research directions that are likely to set the stage in FFs' post-COVID internationalisation research.

Effective business model adaptations in family SMEs in response to the COVID-19 crisis

Purpose The present paper aims at exploring effective business model adaptations in response to unexpected events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The 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. Findings Results 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/value To 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.

Post-disaster recovery for family firms: The role of owner motivations, firm resources, and dynamic capabilities

Natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes and pandemics) negatively affect firms and their stakeholders. These disasters disrupt the operations of firms and lives of people by generating a shock in the system. Small firms are especially vulnerable to the shocks and disturbances resulting from these disasters. Since small firms, especially family firms, are key economic contributors and agents of recovery in any community, understanding their post-disaster recovery processes is critical. Therefore, this study examines the post-disaster recovery processes of small family firms. We utilize a grounded theory approach to analyze and propose that resources and socioemotional wealth priorities influence the post-disaster recovery of small family firms. Utilizing the 8.8 Richter scale earthquake in Chile in 2010 as a natural disaster, we examine the eight-year lagged data of 20 small family firms with disrupted operations. Our findings have important implications for small firms experiencing the negative consequences of disruptions, including those experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic-induced disruption.