Long-term family firm survival and growth considering owning family adaptive capacity and federal disaster assistance receipt

Kathryn Stafford, Sharon M. Danes and George W. Haynes

Journal of Family Business Strategy, 2013, vol. 4, issue 3, 188-200

Abstract: Natural disasters are expected to increase in number and severity. This study initiates a stream of research on effective family business strategies to address the threat of natural disasters to long-term survival and growth of family firms. The purpose of this study was to analyze the mitigating effects of the owning family's adaptive capacity and federal disaster assistance on long-term survival and growth of family firms. Data for 282 family firms in the National Family Business Panel were merged with data on federal disaster assistance from the Public Entity Risk Institute. Indicators of family adaptive capacity had both more numerous significant effects and larger effects on survival and growth than did business characteristics. Experiencing fewer negative family stressors meant a greater likelihood of remaining open from 1997 to 2007 and increasing revenue from 2000 to 2007. Consistent family leadership in times of stability and change and resource focused-management practices decreased the likelihood of survival. Family firms benefitted indirectly from federal disaster assistance to the county and directly from federal disaster assistance when a natural disaster hit their own family firms.

Keywords: Family business; Natural disasters; Adaptive capacity; Small business; Survival; Sustainable family business theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877858513000429
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:fambus:v:4:y:2013:i:3:p:188-200

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/719791/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 719791/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.jfbs.2013.06.002

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Family Business Strategy is currently edited by J.H. Astrachan

More articles in Journal of Family Business Strategy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().