Resilience Behaviors and Temporal Orientation in Family Firms
Vanessa Diaz-Moriana, Eric Clinton, Catherine Faherty, Colm O’Gorman
Family Business Review
Business School
Abstract

This study explores how the past, present, and future interact in family firms in the context of responses to an external adverse event. Our study reveals that family firms exhibit ambitemporality, the simultaneous accommodation of seemingly contradictory temporal orientations, when invoking three relational-based resilience behaviors: drawing on predecessor’s prior actions, trusting sibling bonds, and leveraging inter-firm and community relationships. Family firms engage in temporal reflexivity in that they recognize the value of specific resilience behaviors and commit to investing in them, building resilience capabilities for the future. Our study highlights the importance of temporal orientations to understanding resilience in family firms and suggests practical implications for family business practitioners.