Dynamic capabilities of family business: a catalyst for survival and growth

Small and micro businesses form the largest group of entities offering services to tourists in tourist destinations. A majority of them are family businesses accommodation facilities. The study tests the hypothesis that the family nature of a business offering accommodation services can be a source of real competitive advantage being of significance for a certain group of clients. The advantage can be shaped by creating an image based on the owner’s involvement and hospitality. As the literature research indicated, in the case of the businesses described, it is relatively easy to develop a bond between the facility’s manager and their clients. The deliberations were extended by an empirical study conducted on a group of young people from Poland and Ukraine. Its results have indicated that accommodation services are significant elements of the satisfaction among the clients surveyed, and that in the group surveyed, the key reason for a trip is the intention to “experience and learn” and not comfort. It has also been confirmed that the determinants of accommodation services related to broadly defined hospitality are significant, however, not key in the group analyzed.

Online technologies are currently the most dynamically developing industry, both in product creation and promotion. The study focuses on their incorporation into the SME (small and medium enterprises) segment, which comprises the most economically stable element of any European economy. This paper aims to identify and evaluate dependency in the area of online technologies and promotion tools use in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) related to company age and export involvement. Most research on SMEs focuses on external influences and factors, while this article reflects the internal environment of business entities, which is the source of this study’s originality. The hypotheses were validated by an empirical study of a sample of 743 respondents (companies and entrepreneurs, including family businesses). The research method was a combination of CATI and CASI, and the research tool was a structured questionnaire. To analyze the survey results, the Chi-square test of independence was applied. The key finding was validation of the dependence between the use of the online tools for manufacturing and promotion and the export focus of companies. Companies operating on foreign markets use a wider range of online tools for their business than companies focused on the domestic market. On the other hand, the presumed significant differences in the use of online tools between young businesses and companies long-term established on the market were not confirmed.

Acknowledgment
The authors are thankful to the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, University of Technology in Brno and University of Finance and Administration in Prague, Project No.: “TL02000434 Rodinné podniky: generátory hodnoty a určování hodnoty v procesu nástupnictví” for financial support to carry out this research.

Business transformation is essential to making the small-sized family business more sustainable. Technological and environmental changes have radically transformed the way of doing business. Business transformation into digital business is the key to success in these conditions. On the other hand, some of the previous studies of business transformation in several countries and industries show different empirical evidence. This study analyzes the transformation process in a small-sized family business. This is a case study of 15 small-sized family businesses with four different types of industry, with an interview and observation period of 12 months in 2019–2020. This study has formulated a business transformation model for a small-sized family business and presented the results of the transformation process carried out. The research results indicate that a business transformation model consists of several attributes and sub-attributes. Business transformation results indicate different processes and times between companies. In general, the transformation process can be grouped into the exploration, learning, and synchronizing stages. The industry with the fastest transformation process is the hospitality industry, while the manufacturing process for the industry takes a bit longer. The results of this study indicate that business transformation has improved the sustainability of a small-sized family business that is characterized by its ability to adapt to changing technology and environmental conditions.