Resilience through family bonds: exploring the adaptive capacity of small family businesses in tourism and hospitality

While small family businesses are crucial to the tourism and hospitality sectors, their ability to adapt to external shocks remains understudied. Drawing upon the double ABCX model of adjustment and adaptation, this study explores how small family businesses in tourism and hospitality adapt to disasters and crises. Through interpretative phenomenological analysis of interviews with two generations of small family business owners in Uzbekistan (n = 30), this study showcases how the dynamics of resource availability and individual perceptions influence business adaptation. The findings demonstrate that co-learning and mutual support within families can significantly enhance their adaptive capacity. Theoretically, the study expands the double ABCX model to better understand how small family businesses adapt to external shocks. Practically, the study emphasises how crises can strengthen family bonds and foster psychological and organisational resilience among small family business owners.