How is risk different in family and non-family businesses? - a comparative statistical analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Autor(a) principal: Santos, E.
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Tavares, V., Tavares, F., Ratten, V.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/9147
• topic: Decision-making; Risk analysis; Risk perception; Risk management; Corporate risk; Family businesses

Abstract Purpose – Risk is part of corporate activity and a consequence of the businesses’ demands, the market and the changes in companies and their surroundings. The way that risk is managed is different between family and non-family businesses. The paper aims to compare the different risk types experienced in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic among family and non-family businesses and to analyze whether operational, legal, strategic and image risks influence financial risks. Design/methodology/approach – The nature of the study is quantitative and based on a questionnaire survey that analyses the perception of risks by 1,090 family businesses and 557 non-family businesses. Findings – The results show the existence of statistically significant differences in the perception of financial and legal risks between family and non-family businesses, where the former being the businesses that give more importance to these risks. The perception of operational, legal, strategic and image risks have a positive influence on the perception of financial risk in family and non-family businesses. Originality/value – The results obtained in the study are important because they allow an understanding about the differences in risk management between family and non-family businesses, which can lead to greater corporate sustainability and increased financial performance.