The Dilemma between the Pursuit of Sustainability and the Cultural Heritage of Moroccan Family Businesses: A Contextualization Study

ABSTRACT: The objective of this research is to explore the relationship between the cultural specificities of governance in the Moroccan context and the sustainability of unlisted Moroccan family businesses in times of crisis. To produce our results, we opted for a qualitative approach based on semi-directive interviews with 20 CEOs of unlisted Moroccan family businesses, 6 of which are large companies, 8 are SMEs, and 6 are VSEs. Our results explain that the search for sustainability by family governance in times of crisis is dependent on three cultural specificities, explicitly: family reputation, religiosity norms, and the logic of strategic imitation. These specificities drive the governance of Moroccan family businesses in terms of internal sustainability, external sustainability, family-enterprise interactions, emotional involvement, risk aversion, and innovation in times of crisis.

KEYWORDS: Family governance, sustainability, culture, innovation, family reputation, business imitation