This study investigates how institutional resilience facilitates successful intergenerational succession in Chinese family firms. Drawing on institutional resilience theory and socioemotional wealth (SEW) theory, we employ fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore configurational causal pathways. Based on a sample of 20 Chinese family firms, we identify four core conditions (pre-succession planning, multi-dimensional governance structure, professional tool empowerment, cultural spirit inheritance) and one contextual condition (institutional environment adaptability). Results show that cultural spirit inheritance is the only necessary condition for successful succession, while five equifinal configurations of institutional resilience are sufficient to achieve effective succession. By contrast, weakness in any two core institutional resilience dimensions significantly increases the likelihood of succession failure. This study advances contextualized family business research by unpacking the combinatorial mechanisms of institutional resilience in an emerging market context and provides actionable implications for family firms and policymakers.

Community-based natural resource governance is often promoted in the name of sustainability, yet long-term outcomes remain elusive. This study examines the impact of various types of trust as the underpinning factor for the long-term resilience of collaborative resource governance. Using a four-type trust framework, dispositional, affinitive, rational, and procedural, the study compares trust trajectories across the prior to-, during-, and post-project phases of matsutake mushroom management in two communities within the S National Protected Area, Yunnan Province, China. Drawing on qualitative interviews and comparative case analysis, the study finds that while neither community sustained co-management mechanisms in full, X Village retained partial continuity through embedded procedural and rational trust. In contrast, Y village experienced accelerated institutional decline after project withdrawal, as market changes and weak enforcement undermined collective norms and trust in formal structures. These findings underscore that institutional resilience is shaped not only by institutional design but also by the evolution and interaction of trust types over time. By tracing trust trajectories across project stages, this study contributes a micro-level explanation of how trust mediates post-project governance outcomes. It emphasizes the importance of layering trust and embedding it within local social and institutional practices. The findings highlight the need to consider how co-management strategies can support trust continuity after project withdrawal, particularly by acknowledging the underlying structural conditions that shape trust resilience.