This paper aims to test and validate a model of internal factors influencing the capacity expansion decisions of family businesses, thereby helping these organizations better understand their decision-making processes. The identified internal factors include socio-emotional wealth, intergenerational cooperation, and a heterogeneous top management team. The study focuses on family businesses in the Portuguese food industry and employs both qualitative and quantitative methods. A structured online questionnaire, completed by 150 respondents, was analyzed using SPSS. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted to confirm the quantitative findings and provide a broader conceptual perspective. The results indicate that both qualitative and quantitative analyses support the proposed model.

A significant amount of animal waste is generated in the meat industry, and this is no different in the case of family businesses in the meat industry, be it slaughterhouses, meat processors or poultry farms. Animal waste is not always waste. Some parts of it can be recycled. In the course of their research, the authors tested their previously developed model with an online survey of 45 family businesses in the meat industry and with in-depth interviews analysed with the help of artificial intelligence. The aim of the research is to assess which internal factors influence the decision of family businesses in the meat industry to expand the capacity required for the recycling of animal waste. The research verified the model and provided useful, practical examples for the utilisation of animal waste.

Modern society requires that the food industry reconsider packaging and evolve towards sustainable alternatives. The paper's aim is to present the special endogenous factors characteristic of SME (Small and medium-sized enterprises) family business decision-making in relation to capacity expansion. The efforts of ten SME family businesses in the Hungarian food industry related to packaging materials are presented through a case study, in-depth interviews, and cost analysis. The results show that all participants in the food chain realized that making packaging materials recyclable is essential for sustainable development. To this end, packaging material manufacturers have started to develop and now offer many alternatives of environmentally friendly and recyclable packaging materials for food industry companies. It is an important aspect for food industry companies that these environmentally friendly packaging materials have the same freshness-keeping capabilities as the previous ones. In many cases, the new environmentally friendly packaging materials require the purchase of new machines, and the new machines require the training of the workers. It can be concluded that there is a close connection between recyclable packaging and capacity expansion: the use of environmentally friendly recyclable packaging materials becomes a process of capacity expansion in the case of SME family businesses in the Hungarian food industry as well.