Resilience in Family Businesses: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Resilience attracts increasing attention across scientific domains, particularly in the context of family businesses, for which the ability to navigate adversity is pivotal for transgenerational success. This systematic literature review investigates 87 publications on organizational resilience in family businesses. Our analysis highlights four distinctive themes of family business resilience: (1) defining family business resilience, (2) long-term orientation and family values, (3) resource and capability endowments, and (4) demonstration of resilience and learning. We contribute to family business research by providing a novel framework and integrated definition, accompanied by a future research agenda.