PurposeWithin a very short period of time, the worldwide pandemic triggered by the novel coronavirus has not only claimed numerous lives but also caused severe limitations to daily private as well as business life. Just about every company has been affected in one way or another. This first empirical study on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on family firms allows initial conclusions to be drawn about family firm crisis management.Design/methodology/approachExploratory qualitative research design based on 27 semi-structured interviews with key informants of family firms of all sizes in five Western European countries that are in different stages of the crisis.FindingsThe COVID-19 crisis represents a new type and quality of challenge for companies. These companies are applying measures that can be assigned to three different strategies to adapt to the crisis in the short term and emerge from it stronger in the long run. Our findings show how companies in all industries and of all sizes adapt their business models to changing environmental conditions within a short period of time. Finally, the findings also show that the crisis is bringing about a significant yet unintended cultural change. On the one hand, a stronger solidarity and cohesion within the company was observed, while on the other hand, the crisis has led to a tentative digitalization.Originality/valueTo the knowledge of the authors, this is the first empirical study in the management realm on the impacts of COVID-19 on (family) firms. It provides cross-national evidence of family firms' current reactions to the crisis.

Systematic literature reviews are an increasingly used review methodology to synthesize the existing body of literature in a field. However, editors complain about a high number of desk rejections because of a lack in quality. Poorly developed review articles are not published because of a perceived lack of contribution to the field. Our article supports authors of standalone papers and graduate students in the Entrepreneurship domain to write contribution-focused systematic reviews e.g. by providing a concrete guideline. Our article analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of a systematic literature review and how they can be overcome. Furthermore, we provide a combined list of highly ranked journals in the Entrepreneurship domain as a basis for quality appraisal. Finally, this article builds a scenario for the future of the systematic literature review methodology and shows how technological improvements have changed this methodology and what can be achieved in the future.

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Review articles or literature reviews are a critical part of scientific research. While numerous guides on literature reviews exist, these are often limited to the philosophy of review procedures, protocols, and nomenclatures, triggering non-parsimonious reporting and confusion due to overlapping similarities. To address the aforementioned limitations, we adopt a pragmatic approach to demystify and shape the academic practice of conducting literature reviews. We concentrate on the types, focuses, considerations, methods, and contributions of literature reviews as independent, standalone studies. As such, our article serves as an overview that scholars can rely upon to navigate the fundamental elements of literature reviews as standalone and independent studies, without getting entangled in the complexities of review procedures, protocols, and nomenclatures.

This paper investigates the relationship of individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) and intrapreneurial activities in the public sector. Moreover, the influence of the two self-regulatory modes locomotion and assessment are used to provide further insights into this relationship. This empirical study focuses on a quantitative analysis of 266 public sector employees from municipalities and cities in the Germanspeaking countries gathered through an online survey. The results demonstrate that public sector employees with a high level of IEO are more likely to work on explorative activities which are the foundation for every intrapreneurial process. Furthermore, the results highlight that IEO does not have an influence on exploitative activities. The respective self-regulatory mode is identified as an important moderator for the relationship. Our research shows that an archetype of an intrapreneur who is strong in scanning for new opportunities and evaluating them is possible.

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Business model innovation is an emerging hot topic in management research. It has been developing steadily for 20 years and has gained enormous momentum in recent years. A solid basis has been created, and the first literature reviews summarize the topic. However, an analysis of the core literature and the general foundation of business model innovation literature is missing. This gap is closed with this bibliometric. It analyzes 30 core articles referenced in 380 business model innovation publications. From this, a total of four research clusters can be delineated. This foundation of the research area is supplemented with a trend analysis of recent publications, which identifies three trends for the future of this research stream. The analysis highlights that sustainability, dynamic capabilities, and small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises are the most promising trends in business model innovation. Based on the results, we present a general model for business model innovation.

The Covid-19 crisis has hit SMEs particularly hard. Numerous business models (BM) have been limited or rendered downright impossible due to decreased social contact. SMEs can respond to this exogenous crisis via temporary business model innovation (BMI). This empirical study investigates these temporary BMs using a multiple case study approach based on five SMEs in Austria, Germany, and Liechtenstein who within a short period of time applied their core competencies and networks to integrate new BMs, which were in some cases very different from existing ones. These had a positive effect on strategic flexibility, and if desired can also be incorporated into the firm long-term. The paper contributes to SME crisis management during the Covid-19 pandemic by pointing out and developing a successful management mechanism that allows to survive a crisis or even improve during this time. Moreover, we contribute to BMI literature by explaining temporary BMI as a new form of BMI. It also makes clear to managers that temporary BMs add value to firms and create new revenue streams.