Family will be happy: what awaits the family business in 2022 - a study

PwC analysts polled family companies in 87 countries to learn about the impact of the pandemic on their business and expectations for 2022. The most interesting conclusions of this study are commented on by experts from the Skolkovo Business School

In good times, the strengths of a family business are often overlooked. However, in difficult times, the fundamental principles of family businesses show their strength. Commitment to one's own values, long-term planning, reasonable leverage and minimal barriers to making quick and vital decisions show their value not only for the companies themselves, but also on a macro scale - for the rehabilitation of the entire global economy.

In 2009, after the global financial crisis, we already observed a similar effect: the family business recovered faster than other market participants. It appears that this will happen again during the recovery period from the COVID-19 pandemic . There are two reasons for this:

in times of crisis, consumers and customers trust family businesses more; in most sectors, such companies show greater resilience.

According to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, 67% of respondents said they trust family businesses, compared to 58% for public companies. It turns out that people consider a family business to be a more reliable type of enterprise.

The results of the study show that trust is based on confidence in competence and ethics. Of the four main institutions of society - the government, business, NGOs and the media - only business is assessed positively by respondents on both counts.

And data from a PwC survey conducted from October to early December 2020 confirms the second hypothesis about the high resilience of family businesses. Only 21% of family businesses said they needed additional capital in 2021. In addition, the majority of respondents (86%) who participated in the survey expect their business to resume strong growth by 2022.