Family ties give real estate firms an edge in uncertain markets
Swedish researchers found that family-owned real estate firms outmaneuver larger competitors by leveraging family relationships to adapt quickly when conditions shift. The study identifies three distinct strategies—from flexible partnerships to cautious, stakeholder-focused moves—that help smaller firms survive volatility better than their corporate rivals.
Originaltitel: Achieving flexibility in the resource orchestration of family-owned real estate firms under conditions of uncertainty
<p><strong>Purpose</strong></p><p>This study explains how managers in family-owned real estate firms achieve flexibility in orchestrating their resources under conditions of uncertainty.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach</strong></p><p>This paper draws on a single-case design, utilizing 21 interviews with top managers and archival material from 18 Swedish family-owned real estate firms to capture how the phenomenon of resource orchestration (RO) unfolds under uncertainty.</p><p><strong>Findings</strong></p><p>The results reveal how the family phenomenon can be understood as a key driver of the family firm’s RO mechanisms, shaping the RO activities of its managers.</p><p><strong>Originality/value</strong></p><p>Three distinct RO configurations of family firm managers are identified: (1) flexible network structuring, (2) incremental flexibility and stakeholder-focused bundling and (3) cautious and societal flexible leveraging. These configurations explain how the family dimension enables the manager’s RO flexibility under conditions of uncertainty.</p>