Investment policy of Moroccan family businesses in times of crisis: the role of cultural logics, family reputation and imitation effect

Purpose The purpose of this research is to study the financial, family, and cultural incidences on the investment policy of unlisted Moroccan family firms passed on to the second generation or more in times of crisis. Design/methodology/approach The design is based on an innovative methodological approach of contextualization in times of crisis with 20 unlisted Moroccan family firms, 3 sociologists and 2 researcher-experts in times of crisis. Findings This research work gives rise to a result that can be summarized through a logic of combined rationality. Explicitly, in the family business, it is necessary to combine the two effects: financial rationality in times of crisis, and the emotionality that reigns in family logic (everything that is culture, family traditions and psychological backgrounds) to make arbitrations in terms of investments. Originality/value Thus, the originality of this research is rooted by a field made up of transmitted Moroccan family firms. The major problems related to the investment of the family firm begin to emerge once there are a multitude of generations involved in the management. This accentuates the family and socio-cultural effects of family reputation and religiosity and the firm's strategic imitation. In this sense, this paper proposes a way forward in the research on family businesses, by integrating family and cultural logics following a hybrid approach that integrates these factors with classical financial logics.