Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of owner family involvement in business on sustainable survival of family small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) and to empirically validate the intervening role of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Design/methodology/approach The authors analyze data from 489 owner and nonowner executives of 150 family SMEs using PLS-SEM (Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling). Findings The authors found evidence that family involvement in business positively impacts the sustainable survival of family SMEs while corporate social responsibility partially mediates this relationship. Apart from effective family involvement in business, active involvement in social causes enhances a firm's ability to survive longer.
Originality/value Survival is the biggest challenge facing family SMEs forcing them to achieve the ability to sustain longer. Rooted in transaction cost economics (TCE) theory of the family firm and stakeholder theory, this paper validates an integrative model for family SMEs' sustainable survival.