Who is More Sustainable? Family Business or Non-Family Business? Czech Evidence

Petra Horváthová,Marie Mikušová,Václav Friedrich

doi:10.3390/su12145540

Abstract

The aim of this research was to find out whether family businesses create better opportunities for their economic sustainability in comparison with non-family businesses. That is, whether family businesses are more responsible in preparing for crises than non-family businesses. Having a sustainable business means being prepared for potential threats of all kinds. Research was carried out in 2019 on a sample of 2300 family and non-family enterprises. On the basis of statistically processed results, a minimum of significant differences in preparation for the crisis was identified. Even the basic hypothesis about a more responsible approach by family businesses to prepare for the crisis could not be accepted. It could not be noted that family businesses are building better conditions for their economic sustainability. The implication for praxis is to encourage owners to involve the family more in the preparation for crises, including development of formalised tools. Predetermined tools will help in solving crises that threaten the source of livelihoods of the whole family. The comparison of family and non-family businesses in this area, as yet unexplored, has the potential to contribute to the deepening of research in both crisis management and family business, which is the main contribution to the theoretical field.

Highlights

Czech professional literature and institutions rarely deal with the topic of family business ( FB)
The + to +++ signs represent a significant difference in attitude in favour of non-family companies, while the − to −−− signs indicate a significant attitude in favour of family companies
There was no significant difference in the application of crisis management between family and non-family-owned businesses

Summary

Introduction

Czech professional literature and institutions rarely deal with the topic of family business ( FB). In May 2019, the Czech Republic became one of the countries where family businesses are clearly defined. At this time, the government approved the following definition of a family business: family business corporation is a business company in which more than 50% of shareholders is composed of members of one family and at least one member of that family is its statutory body or in which members of one family carry out, directly or indirectly, most voting rights and at least one member of that family is a member of the statutory body of that business corporation

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion