Family capital and organizational resilience of the family firm in Tunisia

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the contribution of family capital (human, social, financial, and survivability capitals) to the resilience of the family firm along three dimensions: the absorptive capacity, the renewal capacity, and the appropriation capacity. Our objective is to show that the family capital is a strong determinant of the survivability of family firms that are claimed to be inherently resistant to change, particularly when facing environmental disruption. We have adopted a qualitative approach based on five case studies with owner-managers of family firms in a North African country (Tunisia). The period of the survey (2011–2014) is characterized by a political revolution which led to unprecedented cuts in the Tunisian economy. This context provided an additional stimulus for greater organizational resilience. The information was collected through semi-directive interviews with owner-managers of five family businesses. We concluded that the financial help provided by the family during the crisis has been acting as an accelerator for the development of some assets, including the share capital. By an increase of the share capital, the company can mobilize more financial capital. Our results show that the family firms’ social capital (relationships with external partners) is a key factor for the firm to absorb shocks, implement collaborative strategies, and internalize practices allowing them to cope with disturbances in similar future situations. The human, financial, and survivability capitals have also important contributions to the resilience of the firm and interact with the social capital in order to strengthen this resilience.