Managing Turbulence in a Family-Owned Airline: A Resource Dependence Perspective on Business Model Development

Abstract

How can a family business reduce environmental uncertainty and dependence by developing its business model, changing the logic of creating and capturing value through its activities? We address this question by exploring the case of Cimber, a Denmark-based family-owned airline, which has developed different business models since its establishment in 1950. We build on resource dependence theory to investigate the actions that Cimber took in this process. We find an important role of the family in balancing internal and external influences, in shaping the scope and complexity of the business model, and in creating specific path dependencies in this process.