Entrepreneurship and Family Business in a Hostile Environment: The Case of Lithuania

This article compares the survival strategies used by the founders of family and nonfamily businesses in the hostile economic environment of Lithuania. In this exploratory study, six firms were studied in depth: three family firms and three nonfamily firms. These firms were in that sector of the Lit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Family business review 2005-09, Vol.18 (3), p.247-258
Main Authors: Dyer, W. Gibb, Panicheva Mortensen, Svetlana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain drain
Bureaucracy
Comparative studies
Differences
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
Family owned businesses
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Infrastructure
Politics
Purchasing power
Resource management
Skilled workers
Social capital
Success
Taxes
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Summary:This article compares the survival strategies used by the founders of family and nonfamily businesses in the hostile economic environment of Lithuania. In this exploratory study, six firms were studied in depth: three family firms and three nonfamily firms. These firms were in that sector of the Lithuanian economy designated as “light industry.” The major strategies used by founders to keep their firms viable include (1) developing social capital to gain favor with local authorities and important customers and suppliers and (2) using family networks to gain access to human and financial capital. The family businesses appeared to be more successful than the nonfamily enterprises. Moreover, the ability to draw on family resources seemed to be the predominant reason for their modest success.
ISSN:0894-4865
1741-6248
DOI:10.1111/j.1741-6248.2005.00045.x