The specificity of family firms providing accommodation services—the experience of a post-socialist country 30 years after the economic transformation

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the conditions and specificity of family firms (FFs) providing accommodation services in Poland 30 years after the beginning of economic changes. The research was carried out between 2017 and 2018 using the Computer-Assisted Website Interview (CAWI) method. In two stages of research, a total of 1300 questionnaires were sent to FFs providing accommodation services, and we received 83 fully completed questionnaires. This response rate indicates that there is still a lack of trust among FFs as a result of the activities of the socialist economy, which was negative towards private property. The respondents were generally business owners, but several questionnaires were completed by other members of the families running an accommodation service business. All companies participating in the survey provided their services in small towns or rural areas. In the structure of the surveyed FFs by type, guesthouses and lodgings had the largest share, and, in terms of location, FFs from the southern part of the country dominated. We found out that familiarity is an important feature of the Polish FFs providing accommodation services. The majority of FF representatives agreed that focusing on the specifics of family business allows them to compete with companies providing accommodation services. They also pointed out the long-term perspective of business and development and the provision of high-quality services. Such an approach is now possible because the period of a centrally planned economy had to be followed by a change in the way of thinking related to business activity in Poland.