English

Djoutsa Wamba Léopold

doi:10.5897/ajbm2021.9260

Abstract

This study analyses the resilience of family businesses in a developing country like Cameroon during the covid-19 crisis by applying measures of association, regression analysis, and comparison tests to data collected by administering a questionnaire on a panel of 280 companies of which 196 are family businesses and 84 non-family businesses. The results show that throughout the pandemic period, family companies are more resilient in terms of financial and social performance relative to non-family businesses. We also find that among family businesses, the most successful are those with a family member as CEO or those whose management is dominated by the family controlling the firm. The results extend former research by showing that family leadership is a form of management that can provide responses to unexpected events that affect the company.   Key words: Family leadership, social performance, financial performance, COVID-19 crisis, family businesses.

Highlights

The health crisis related to Covid-19 has affected the existence of humans and organisations in both developed and developing countries (Azimli, 2020)
A look at Table 1 shows that the family ownership, the management of the company by a family member, loan possibilities, and the fact that the management of the company is dominated by a family positively affect the social and financial performance of the company during a crisis at the 1% significance level
In order to circumvent this problem, the first model is estimated in the ab ence of the “family domination in management” (FAMDOM) va iable, and in the second model, this variable is introduced to replace the two va iable elating to the family: “family owne hip” (FAMOWN) and “management of the fi m by one of the family membe ” (FAM EO)

Summary

Introduction

The health crisis related to Covid-19 has affected the existence of humans and organisations in both developed and developing countries (Azimli, 2020). Certain researchers (La Porta et al, 1999; Morck and Yeung, 2003) hold that family businesses are the dominant social and economic force in the world, Van Essen et al (2015) hold that the long-run orientation of family businesses makes them more resilient in times of crisis. This explains the growing attention researchers (Van Essen et al, 2015; e p Cladera and Martín‐Oliver, 2015; Minichilli et al, 2016; Fidrmuc and Korhonene, 2018; Joe et al, 2019) place on explaining the advantages and disadvantages of family involvement on the ownership and management of companies in times of crisis, and its effects on the performance of the company.

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Conclusion