How do Family Firms Cope with Crises : A study on the current inflation and energy crisis

Abstract: Background: The current energy and inflation crisis presents a challenge for businesses in Europe. One of the countries that is especially affected by the crisis is Germany. Family firms are an important factor for the German and European economies, as they account for 65 to 80 percent of all European companies. Although family firms have been thoroughly researched, as presented by the current body of knowledge, the existing gap in the literature on family firm strategies during a crisis is significant, which is the basis for this thesis.  Purpose: This study aims to investigate German family firms' strategies in times of crisis, specifically the current inflation and energy crisis, and assesses how they help achieve economic resilience. Method: This thesis represents a qualitative and inductive research approach. Twelve case studies have been conducted using an inductive method to collect data for this exploratory study. The chosen data collection method for this thesis is qualitative interviews. The empirical data is analyzed following the models by Gioia et al. (2013) and Hair et al. (2020). The existing literature serves as a basis for this research approach.  Conclusion: The study concludes that this energy and inflation crisis affects family firms in Germany on different dimensions. The shock magnitude, the family capabilities, and the overall management of the family firms are key factors influencing the economic resilience of the company. The performance on each individual level leads to certain actions, such as leveraging networks, by the family firm to cope with this crisis.