The first turnaround response of family firms in a crisis situation

Abstract

Building on recent advances in the socioemotional wealth (SEW) literature and the concept of bifurcation bias, we explore the first turnaround response of family firms to a decline in financial performance. We argue that heterogeneity among family firms in terms of their levels of family ownership and family involvement in management alters their response to an economic crisis situation. We also contend that severity of a crisis situation significantly moderates the relationships. Our multi-level analysis of a sample of crisis situations pertaining to family firms supports our hypotheses.