Context /problem: Recently, there has been a growing attention devoted to business longevity among business historians, which leads necessarily to the question of both whether and how organizations maintain their consistency over time (Sharma & Salvato, 2013; Napolitano, 2015; Olejniczak et al., 2019). Researchers emphasize the relevance of continuity (in area of family business see Miller and Le Breton-Miller 2005), adaptation (Hatum 2007; Fernandez Perez 2010) and innovation (Ortiz-Villajos & Sotoca, 2018; Cefis and Marsili, 2005) in ensuring the longevity. But the question of what are the specific components of the business that have been preserved over a substantial period of time (Galadanchi & Bakar, 2018) ensuring survival of the firm remains crucial.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the components of Polish centennial firms that have survived and remained unchanged over a substantial period of time. Poland is a unique case because despite the extreme changes occurring in its environment (e.g. partitions, two wars, political transformation), it is a home to almost four hundred centennial companies (Pikos & Olejniczak, 2017).
Methodology: The study adopts a qualitative research approach. The research procedure involves investigating 35 companies. Sampling was carried out on the basis of the principle of maximum heterogeneity. Data collection included field visits and in-depth interviews. The analysis of data was performed with the use of structural coding (Saldaña, 2015) and MAXQDA qualitative data analysis software.
Findings/originality/value – This study will contribute to the existing literature in two ways. Firstly, it analyzes longevity and continuity in discontinuous context (Kochanowicz, 2014). Secondly, it expands the current understanding of the longevity by focusing on continuous components of the firm (Sharma & Salvato, 2013; Olejniczak et al., 2019).