How do family SMEs build organizational resilience? An analysis of the agri-food supply chain

Traditionally, resilience in family firms has been studied ex post, analyzing outcomes after a crisis. However, the ex ante perspective—the active process of building resilience—remains largely unexplored. This is crucial for family-owned SMEs given their limited resources. To address this gap, we propose a model breaking down resilience into two dimensions: risk management formalization and intensity of resilience practices. We hypothesize that formalization positively impacts intensity. Furthermore, drawing on the socioemotional approach, we anticipate family SMEs will show less formalized but more intense resilience processes than non-family counterparts. The model was validated with 196 Spanish SMEs operating in the agri-food value chain. Results confirm formalization drives resilience practices, and family SMEs are more proactive in implementing them. Notably, the expected negative effect of being a family SME on formalization didn’t materialize in our sample. Our conclusions enrich understanding of how the family firm’s socioemotional wealth shapes its resilience approach. This study emphasizes the need for multidimensional approaches to characterize resilience, offering a more comprehensive view of its interconnection with other business characteristics.