Innovativeness and Family-Firm Performance: The Moderating Effect of Family Commitment

Isabella Hatak; Teemu Kautonen; Matthias Fink; Juho Kansikas

doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2015.02.020

Innovativeness and Family-Firm Performance: The Moderating Effect of Family Commitment

Isabella Hatak, Teemu Kautonen, Matthias Fink, Juho Kansikas

Institute of Innovation Management

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The positive relationship between innovativeness and firm performance is well established and applies equally to all businesses, including family firms. However, little is yet known about how the unique characteristics of family firms influence this relationship. Drawing upon the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, this study explains how the interplay between innovativeness as a firm-specific resource and family commitment as a family-specific resource affects performance. The analysis of longitudinal survey data collected from Finnish family firms demonstrates a curvilinear (U-shaped) moderating effect of the owner family’s commitment to the firm, in that the impact of innovativeness on firm performance is strongest when family commitment is either low or high. This implies that owner families should avoid their level of commitment becoming becalmed between high and low if they wish to convert their firm’s innovativeness into performance.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	120-131
Number of pages	11
Journal	Technological Forecasting and Social Change
Volume	102
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2015.02.020
Publication status	Published - 2016

Fields of science

502015 Innovation management

JKU Focus areas

Management and Innovation

Access to Document

10.1016/j.techfore.2015.02.020

Cite this

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title = "Innovativeness and Family-Firm Performance: The Moderating Effect of Family Commitment",

abstract = "The positive relationship between innovativeness and firm performance is well established and applies equally to all businesses, including family firms. However, little is yet known about how the unique characteristics of family firms influence this relationship. Drawing upon the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, this study explains how the interplay between innovativeness as a firm-specific resource and family commitment as a family-specific resource affects performance. The analysis of longitudinal survey data collected from Finnish family firms demonstrates a curvilinear (U-shaped) moderating effect of the owner family{\textquoteright}s commitment to the firm, in that the impact of innovativeness on firm performance is strongest when family commitment is either low or high. This implies that owner families should avoid their level of commitment becoming becalmed between high and low if they wish to convert their firm{\textquoteright}s innovativeness into performance.",

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