Look in to look out: strategy and family business identity during COVID-19
通过对六家德国家族企业的案例研究，提出一个过程模型，揭示新冠疫情这类外部冲击如何促使家族企业调整战略，进而澄清或巩固其身份认同。
Abstract COVID-19 challenges the value systems of family firms and urges them to adapt their behaviors, affecting their identities. This study aims to explore how and why family businesses strategically respond to challenges to their identity during COVID-19 . Based on a qualitative case study of six German family firms, we propose a process model of family business identity variations during COVID-19 with three propositions, highlighting the interplay between strategy and identity. Counterintuitively, we found that an exogenous shock like COVID-19 can have a positive effect on family business identity, leading to identity clarification or consolidation. We contribute to the growing stream of research investigating the impact of COVID-19 on SMEs, as well as research on family business identity heterogeneity and organizational identity literature by illustrating the interplay between strategy and identity.