A dynamic capabilities approach for the survival of Pakistani family-owned business in the digital world

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the role of dynamic capabilities for the survival of family-owned business (FOB) in Pakistan. The paper aims at examining the impact of digitization on business landscape for FOBs.Design/methodology/approachData for this research were collected using in-depth interviews. About 24 interviews were conducted with the owners of 24 FOBs in four different states of Pakistan. Interviews were translated and transcribed. By using GIOIA methodology, first-order concepts, themes and aggregate dimension were identified that explained the additional dynamic capabilities needed for family businesses in digital era.FindingsThe results of the data analysis revealed that family businesses are struggling to cope with thriving digital market. Digital mind-set is needed to survive in the market. The ability to respond to change is needed. The intelligence and wisdom needed for creating and maintaining an intellectual asset should be used by investing in new technologies. Importantly, businesses need to maintain an emotionally and artificially intelligent brand.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is based on four different states of Pakistan. By focussing on each state could generate more data. The research is focussed on Pakistan to know about the dynamics of emerging economies. Replicating same research on other developing countries can bring more results. Lastly, it is a purely qualitative research. A quantitative analysis could bring a new context to the problem.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the challenges of family businesses for coping in digital market helps other family businesses to get a know-how before entering the market. Digital presence can help in building the brand but when not handled correctly can damage the brand as well. Investing in additional capabilities can provide a competitive advantage to family businesses. Family businesses possess a passion for the idea which helps to build the narrative for the brand.Originality/valueThis research is contributing to highlight the scenario of an emerging economy by studying the challenges of FOB in digitization. The literature provides more information and theories regarding developed countries. This research is a picture of developing economy and how wave of digital era has transformed the business landscape. In-depth interviews were conducted for deep insights which helps in contributing towards family business research.

Comparative analysis of the role of strategic orientation, strategic performance metric focus and strategic audacity in driving firm performance: family businesses vs nonfamily businesses

“…Data were collected using web-based surveys. Links to the web survey were e-mailed to knowledgeable informants (owners, chief executive officers (CEOs) and executive directors) in companies with more than five employees in a developing European Union (EU) country drawn from the Amadeus database, during a period of global crisis, which implies a context of ambiguity, uncertainty and volatility (Rashid and Ratten, 2020). A total of 282 high-quality responses were received, after excluding (1) incomplete responses, (2) responses that were completed in a significantly shorter time than it took the test respondents (showing that respondents did not devote enough attention to the task) and (3) responses by incompetent respondents (Homburg and Jensen, 2007).…”

“…They are recognized as a vital part of national economies around the world (Songini and Gnan, 2015) and are even predominant organizational forms across several geographical regions (Penco et al, 2020;Sacristan-Navarro and Cabeza-Garcia, 2020). Due to their importance in the global economy and their specificities, family businesses are continuously in the focus of scholars, practitioners and policymakers (Rashid and Ratten, 2020).…”

Digital Adoption in The Family Business: A State-of-the-art Review

“…(Basly and Hammouda, 2020). There are studies regarding this topic across many countries, including French (Ano and Bent, 2021), Germany (Brenk et al, 2019;Pöschl and Freiling, 2020;Dressler and Paunovic, 2021;Pollák and Markovič, 2021;Rondi, De Massis and Kraus, 2021;Soluk and Kammerlander, 2021), India (Chatterjee, Chaudhuri and Vrontis, 2021), Japan (Chung, Chang and Kitamura, 2021), Pakistan (Rashid and Ratten, 2020), and other European countries. Most research is conducted in Europe and investigates the wineries from many perspectives.…”

“…Ano and Bent (2021) explored the human factors in digital strategy implementation. Rashid and Ratten (2020) and Soluk and Kammerlander (2021) employed dynamic capabilities to investigate the family business and so on. The most commonly utilized method is qualitative (8 articles), and three articles used the quantitative approach.…”

Career development and affective commitment: a comparative study of family and nonfamily businesses

“…Family businesses have a multidimensional contribution to the economy in terms of number, gross national product and employment (Rashid and Ratten, 2020). As such, they are also facing contemporary human resource management (HRM) challenges such as attracting, developing and retaining key employees.…”