Are family firms more resilient than non-family firms? Evidence from the covid-19 pandemic.

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze if family firms have been more resilient than non-family firms during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the coping step of organizational resilience. Methodology: Secondary data from the database Aida are used for this purpose. The sample includes 16420 firms (i.e., 13893 family firms and 2527 non-family firms) located in Northeastern regions of Italy. T-tests are carried out to identify the main differences. Findings: Results confirm the negative impact of COVID-19 on firms. However, family firms demonstrated a higher capacity to cope with the pandemic, reporting a lower loss in revenues compared to non-family firms. Managerial implications: Our findings underline the importance of resilience in businesses, providing entrepreneurs with valuable insights to strengthen their organizations and prepare them for future challenges. Research limitations: Our study has limitations, suggesting potential areas for future research. A quantitative analysis alone cannot fully elucidate the resilience of family firms; a qualitative study could complement and address this gap. Originality: This paper analyzes firms' performance in the middle of the crisis. Previous studies analyzed the post-crisis survival of firms or compared firms’ characteristics before and after the crisis to understand if changes occurred.