Building resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic: the journey of a small entrepreneurial family firm in Brazil
Journal of Family Business Management
ISSN: 2043-6238
Article publication date: 5 July 2022
Issue publication date: 2 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The present study used a process approach to examine how a small entrepreneurial family business in the tourism industry evolved during different stages of the Covid-19 pandemic and across different dimensions of resilience.
Design/methodology/approach
The research strategy consisted of a real-time longitudinal case study during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil, based on interviews conducted with the founders of the business.
Findings
The results show how the firm responded to the pandemic and moved through different stages – interruption, loss, resumption, and recovery – as the crisis evolved. During each stage, there were manifestations of different dimensions of organizational resilience: anticipation/awareness, coping and adaptation. The entrepreneurs mobilized several capabilities – emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and relational – during the different stages and across different dimensions to face and respond to the pandemic.
Originality/value
The contributions of the study stem from the lack of research on how small entrepreneurial family businesses in the tourism industry are impacted by disruptive events of long duration and multiple cycles. Specifically, the study contributes to the understanding of how this type of firm responds to these crises, mobilizing different capabilities at different stages and across different dimensions of organizational resilience.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper has been funded by the Capes - Comissão de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior.
Conflict of Interest: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Citation
Amaral, P.C.F. and Da Rocha, A. (2023), "Building resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic: the journey of a small entrepreneurial family firm in Brazil", Journal of Family Business Management, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 210-225. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-02-2022-0017
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited