Dr. Llanos-Contreras, Orlando

Natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes and pandemics) negatively affect firms and their stakeholders. These disasters disrupt the operations of firms and lives of people by generating a shock in the system. Small firms are especially vulnerable to the shocks and disturbances resulting from these disasters. Since small firms, especially family firms, are key economic contributors and agents of recovery in any community, understanding their post-disaster recovery processes is critical. Therefore, this study examines the post-disaster recovery processes of small family firms. We utilize a grounded theory approach to analyze and propose that resources and socioemotional wealth priorities influence the post-disaster recovery of small family firms. Utilizing the 8.8 Richter scale earthquake in Chile in 2010 as a natural disaster, we examine the eight-year lagged data of 20 small family firms with disrupted operations. Our findings have important implications for small firms experiencing the negative consequences of disruptions, including those experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic-induced disruption.

Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and severe and pose a threat to family firms' survival. It is important to address the rarely examined question of how the variables of socioemotional wealth importance (SEWi) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) interact to influence the performance of family businesses in a post-disaster scenario. This study is based on a sample of 307 family businesses that suffered damage as a result of the 2010 earthquake in the Province of Concepción, Chile. Comparative analysis was performed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). The PLS-SEM results support all study hypotheses. The QCA results yield five models that explain post-disaster performance. The model with the greatest coverage includes the EO variables of competitive aggressiveness, internal innovativeness, and external innovativeness. However, SEWi is relevant in terms of its interaction with the rest of the variables in three of the five models.

The objective of this study is to determine the socioemotional priorities that influence the entrepreneurial behaviour of family businesses. The sample includes 214 small and medium-sized family firms in the region of Biobío in Chile. The analysis methods include partial least squares (PLS) and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). The results obtained through PLS show the direct influence of corporate reputation and social ties on entrepreneurial behaviour. In addition, QCA shows how the presence and/ or absence of different socioemotional variables determine entrepreneurial behaviour. Consequently, the study proposes new ways of measuring socioemotional wealth and identifies antecedents of entrepreneurial behaviour in family businesses.