Sustainability of Family-Owned Businesses in the Willowvale Industrial Area of Harare, Zimbabwe

The study sought to evaluate the sustainability of family-owned businesses which were situated in Willowvale industrial area of Harare. The study emanated from the fact that family-owned businesses were experiencing high failure rates. The research explored challenges faced by family-owned businesses, investigated the coping strategies which they adopted, evaluated the link between success factors and sustainability and identified forms of government assistance. Mixed research approaches were adopted. The study found that the family-owned businesses faced a myriad of challenges chief among them shortage of capital, adverse economic environment and stiff competition. The companies lacked in appreciating the role of innovation, information technology, efficiency and quality in enhancing sustainability of their businesses. Coping mechanisms involve reorganising their operations, balancing costs, having family support and mixing entrepreneurship with emotion. There was a weak link between corporate governance, succession planning and management practices with sustainability of family-owned businesses in Willowvale. However, there was a strong link between sustainable competitive advantages and sustainability of these organisations.