Social and Human Capital in Family Firm Sustainability: A Malaysian Case Study

Sustainable entrepreneurship and traditional entrepreneurship have different reasons for pursuing economic development but they share the same underlying concern in needing to stay alive as an entrepreneurial venture. As many entrepreneurial ventures begin as SME's in the form of family businesses, it is important to understand the factors influencing their success or failure. One such factor concerns the contribution of family social and human capital to business strategy and sustainability. An investigation into this was conducted by way of a case study of a family business from inception and growth to decline. The biographical and narrative based inquiry led to findings that suggest that family social and human capital were pivotal to the entrepreneurial venture's early and growth stages. However, the lack of a re-evaluation of that social and human capital in the light of changing industry conditions impacted the future sustainability of that business.