The Antifragility of Family Firms and Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This study investigates whether family firms show a different strategy compared to non-family firms in facing an unanticipated external economic shock. According to the analysis result: 1) the ROA of family firms declines less compared to non-family ones, and 2) family firms respond more actively to uncertainty than non-family ones. This study found that entrepreneurial advantage over uncertainty can be one factor in the high performance of family firms and that family firms tend to be antifragile. These findings contribute to the family business research and entrepreneurship study.