Owner-manager emotions and strategic responses of small family businesses to the COVID-19 pandemic
通过对塞浦路斯38位小型家族企业业主经理的深度访谈，研究他们在新冠疫情中经历的负面情绪（如压力、恐惧）如何通过情感机制和管家逻辑影响企业的战略应对，为理解危机中的微观决策提供新视角。
COVID-19 pandemic, a consensus crisis that has had a profound effect on societies and economies globally, compelled family businesses to respond strategically in order to remain afloat. We examine the role of their owner-managers’ emotions in the strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing on 38 in-depth interviews with owner-managers of small family businesses in Cyprus. Our findings reveal that owner-managers have experienced mainly negative emotions during the pandemic, including higher levels of stress, insecurity, fear, and doubt. By reflecting on these emotions, owner-managers can activate affective mechanisms and apply a stewardship logic to respond strategically. We contribute to the family business literature by conceptualizing key processes at the intersection between owner-manager emotions and strategic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. By focusing on individual (that is, owner-manager) emotional processes and stewardship attitudes, our study provides a microfoundational explanation of strategic responses during external crises and offers both theoretical and practical implications.