Family business resilience in an economic shock: The role of family social capital

The present study offers new knowledge on the mediating role of family social capital at the nexus between an economic shock and family business resilience. Drawing on abductive logic and theoretical saturation, twenty-one (21) interviews were carried out with family business owners or successors in Cyprus, which was heavily plagued by the 2013-2018 macro-economic shock. The findings illustrate a multi-level process and respective influences underpinning changes on and of family social capital mobilization. The economic shock triggers motives at the personal and family levels, which influence the mobilization of family social capital. Family social capital mobilization manifests differently across the structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions. Last, the mobilization of family social capital across these dimensions contributes to firm-specific adaptations and transformations which are essential for family business resilience. Our findings shed light on specific interactions between motives, manifestations of social capital mobilization, and resilience-specific actions. We extend theoretical and empirical contributions to the fields of family business, social capital, and organizational resilience.