Are family firms fit for innovation? Towards an agenda for empirical research

Innovation in Family Firms: A Systematic Literature Review and Guidance for Future Research

“…; Roessl et al . ). Moreover, looking at the FF definition, 68% of articles use the ownership criterion by asking the CEO and/or other members of the top management team (TMT) ‘ Are over 50% of the voting rights of your firm in the hands of one family?…”

Tracing the Roots of Innovativeness in Family SMEs: The Effect of Family Functionality and Socioemotional Wealth

“…What is more, family firms represent “the lifeblood of the family” (Kellermanns et al, , p. 89) and the costs associated with potential business failure due to, for example, the unsuccessful development of innovativeness, often outweigh the benefits of success. Hence, the typically high power of family owners allows them to avoid potentially necessary investments in improving the family firm's capability to identify and seize innovation opportunities (Cabrera‐Suárez, De Saá‐Pérez, and Garcia‐Almeida, ; Roessl, Fink, and Kraus, ).…”

“…What is more, family firms represent "the lifeblood of the family" (Kellermanns et al, 2012, p. 89) and the costs associated with potential business failure due to, for example, the unsuccessful development of innovativeness, often outweigh the benefits of success. Hence, the typically high power of family owners allows them to avoid potentially necessary investments in improving the family firm's capability to identify and seize innovation opportunities (Cabrera-Su arez, De Sa a-P erez, and Garcia-Almeida, 2001; Roessl, Fink, and Kraus, 2010). Second, the link between family, firm reputation, and the goal of preserving the family's SEW may again reduce innovativeness, as any harm to the family's and the firm's reputation resulting, for instance, from the unsuccessful development of the capacity to innovate, implies harming their SEW (Deephouse and Jaskiewicz, 2013).…”

Socioemotional Wealth and Innovativeness in Small- and Medium-Sized Family Enterprises: A Configuration Approach

“…Family‐owned SMEs are typically guided by unique norms, cultures, and processes that rarely exist in non‐family counterparts (Kellermanns et al ) and determine family SMEs' decision‐making processes, including innovation. In addition to factors such as nepotism, rigidity, and conflict potential, which are all said to limit these firms' tendency to innovate (Roessl, Fink, and Kraus ), risk aversion tends to play a crucial role (e.g., Cassia, De Massis, and Pizzurno ). These characteristics generally originate from: (1) blurred boundaries between family and firm equity, since owning families typically invest most of their wealth in their firms (Carney ) to avoid external sources of financial capital (Chrisman and Patel ); (2) an overly strong emphasis on personal interests of the different involved family members; or (3) the desire to carry the firm on to the next generation (Koiranen ).…”