Managerial Dynamic Capabilities of Micro and Small Family Firm Managers in the Retail Industry : Strategic Actions to Manage Economic Downturn

Purpose – this study explores how retail family firm managers’ cognitive capabilities are used to enabling firm strategy to encounter economic decline. Design/methodology/approach – the paper is based on an inductive case study and consists of 30 interviews with retail family firm managers. Findings – the results suggest how managerial cognitive enabling mechanisms shape the manifestation of retail family firm dynamic capabilities (DC) configurations. Originality – three retail managerial cognitive strategic enabling mechanisms and microfoundations are identified, which in turn explain how the following retail family firm DC configurations are shaped: (1) retail family firm customization-based sensing, (2) retail family firm lateral seizing and (3) retail family firm trust-based reconfiguring. The manifestation of these DC configurations illuminate how retail family firm manager enabling firm strategy to encounter economic decline.