Family businesses' business networks in the VUCA world

This chapter illustrates how family businesses use their social capital in business networks, as a means of managing a volatile and uncertain world. By adopting a qualitative approach, we explore how the challenges of the VUCA world are perceived by family businesses and how these challenges affect the shaping of their business networks in conjunction with the use of social capital. Our results suggest that family businesses strengthen adaptability in a VUCA world through diversifying their business networks. Family businesses appear to rely less on strong ties with businesses of similar nature than the literature would suggest and display openness to use weak ties in their networks. This chapter highlights that it is the combination of strong ties among members of the family business and weak ties with partners in the business network that has the potential to enhance family businesses’ effective dealing with the VUCA world.