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Lack of resilience after COVID-19: the role of family firm heterogeneity and behavior. fsQCA versus regression

Iborra, M., J.F. López and V. Safón

Source: European Journal of Management and Business Economics

Abstract

This study analyzes antecedents explaining the lack of resilience in family-owned firms. Our model suggests that family-owned firms’ strategic behaviors and heterogeneity explain a particular crisis outcome: a lack of recovery. Our evidence is based on a sample of 842 European family-owned firms. We complement regression analysis results with fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Our results show that lack of resilience is relevant. In fact, in our sample, 60% of family firms (FFs) failed to recover their sales. This evidence supports the role played by exploitation and exploration behavior as well as family heterogeneity in explaining the lack of recovery. Our results may offer guidance to practitioners and policymakers on the pathways that explain the lack of resilience. Although it is unlikely that an external crisis such as COVID-19 will occur again to the same extent, other threatening events may occur and impact FFs. Understanding how FFs can avoid non-recovery is crucial: it can inform managers on how to deal with stressful events and provide guidance to economic authorities on how to help FFs around the world avoid non-recovery, which affects the economy. First, the study contributes to FF research by offering a theoretical explanation for the different effects of FF attributes on non-recovery in the context of a global crisis. Second, it contributes to the literature on organizational resilience by examining explorative and exploitative behaviors as antecedents of FF non-recovery. Third, we show the usefulness of combining fsQCA and regression analysis to understand complex phenomena.

Recommended citation

Iborra, M., López-Muñoz, J.F. and V. Safón (2026). «Lack of resilience after COVID-19: the role of family firm heterogeneity and behavior. fsQCA versus regression». European Journal of Management and Business Economics 35(1): 84–106. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-05-2023-0140

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