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The aim of this paper is to verify whether, in the tourism sector, the “family business model” is an important development opportunity and, in particular, if it is an innovation driver for this industry development. In the literature, there is no conclusive evidence of this for the tourism sector. In this context, the authors investigate personal and family needs and preferences alongside the relationship between family business model, growth and profit maximization and the development of tourism businesses through innovation drivers.

To develop this topic, the authors conducted an extensive literature review considering the scientific papers published and contained mainly in database in the last 10 years (2010–2020) and focused the attention on the last five years. The authors ran content and structural analysis on the collected sources by main scientific databases (EBSCO, Scopus, Thomson Reuter, etc.). Based on a systematic literature review, the analysis was conducted using statistical criteria and bibliometric indicators. In detail, the authors used systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis and automatic text analysis (ATA) tools for identified lexicon analysis and strategic keywords and used statistical correlation to classify the different approaches in the literature and to outline the orientations of the various research groups.

From this analysis, the correlation between tourism, hospitality, entrepreneurship, life cycle and innovation dynamics was analysed. Important research gaps are identified, and future research priorities are suggested. Implications for both family business and tourism theory are discussed.

While the intersection between tourism management and family business model has been established in the literature, the number of related publications is still limited. Against this background, a literature review as a total analysis was an adequate and practicable research methodology. This paper proposes a comprehensive literature review and a reflection on the potential developments and applications for family business in the tourism sector. Authors also suggest several research directions that have not been adequately investigated yet. In particular, scholars do not seem to have caught all the implications of innovation adoption, especially for SMEs and family ownerships in tourism.

The study investigated which variables and family dynamics influence the entrepreneurship and succession process in the Italian ice cream sector. In light of the consequences of Covid-19, the research has identified the elements on which female leadership is based.

Data were collected using the qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured interviews at a homemade ice cream production organization.

Findings highlight that to pursue business longevity, one must maintain one’s family identity and values and, therefore, offer quality products. However, the company must know how to innovate to remain competitive and optimize its processes. All this is possible by creating a dialogue and transferring knowledge within the family business to strengthen and prepare future successors. The analysis of the family structure highlights how cultural family identity has privileged gender identity as a factor that has guided the development process since the first generation, in this case, allowing for expansion in terms of size and family. In addition, the results of the analysis highlighted two distinct scenarios within the same case study: the first emphasises the limits of the lack of management of a succession process; the second shows the openness of the organization to the introduction of innovations, expansion strategies and the entry of new partners outside the family.

This study contributes to the knowledge and understanding of how, in light of the pandemic, the resilience of these family businesses contributes to redesigning their internal governance system in favour of the second generation and effectively accelerating the succession process.

The study investigates how consumers' food purchasing habits changed during the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy. The research aims to understand if traditional aspects, health consciousness and environmental concerns have influenced and changed the purchases of food products post-pandemic.

The authors developed a theoretical model to understand whether health consciousness, traditional aspects and environmental concerns affect consumers' purchasing intention. The study collects secondary data to analyse state of the art and investigate consumer behaviour in the agri-food system after the pandemic. Thereafter, a survey was conducted via a convenience random sampling procedure. The data (n = 622) were analysed using the formulated research framework and tested through the structural equation modelling procedure.

The findings reveal that health consciousness and traditional aspects (culinary traditions, ingredients usage from one's territory of origin, products' origin attention) are among the main reasons for purchasing agri-food goods after the pandemic. Instead, environmental concerns negatively affect consumers' purchase intentions.

The study identifies which aspects influenced consumers' purchasing intentions after the Covid-19 pandemic. It also provides insights for food companies and policymakers on the factors to be improved to optimize the agri-food sector following a sustainable perspective and in order to develop effective business strategies.

The purpose of this study is to construct a comprehensive review on family businesses in the tourism industry since glocalization and small businesses comprise most of the industry.

This is a conceptual paper which utilizes qualitative research methods. Bibliometric analysis is applied to the selected 35 articles from specific databases which include not only the general tourism industry but also subsectors of airline, hospitality, restaurant, etc. Articles in this study fixate on the family businesses within the tourism industry.

In total, 35 articles are found with the keywords “family business and tourism”, “family business and hospitality and hotels”, “family business and restaurant” and “family business and airline”. Though the family business studies focus on hospitality, tourism and restaurants as F&B, there is a research gap in the subsectors like rent-a-car companies, travel agencies and tour operators and recreation facilities. Overall qualitative research design is preferred, but majority of the authors’ focus is on business development, profit, performance and succession. For further studies, quantitative analysis on research gap areas are recommended.

The most general limitation is that only specific selected databases are used for the data gathering process such as double reviewed indexed journals published within Web of Science, Emerald, Elton B. Stephens Company (EBSCO) and Elsevier databases from the period of 1970s. Some other databases and some different periods may be considered as well as different keywords for other research. Secondly, few studies have analyzed quantitative data, since the specific nature of the family business dynamics require qualitative data. As a suggestion, not only qualitative analysis but also mixed methods may also be studied since the literature lacks the studies conducted with these methodologies.

The study contributes to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive review on hospitality and tourism family business management emphasizing the research gap on subsector application areas.