Will conjugal relationship affect the corporate innovation? – Empirical evidence from a-share listed family business in China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yupeng Xu ◽  
Bo Cheng ◽  
Fei Pan

Purpose Few studies have focused on the impact of conjugal control and non-conjugal control on the innovation capability of family firms. In the context of the relative lack of research on the relationship between family firm heterogeneity and innovation ability, this study aims to focus on the differentiated impact of husband–wife-controlled family listed companies and non-husband–wife-controlled family listed companies on their innovation capabilities, which provides empirical evidence with more Chinese institutional and cultural characteristics for the development of corporate organizational management and innovation theories. Design/methodology/approach Taking all A-share listed family firms from 2007 to 2016 as the research sample, this paper examines the influence of spousal control on firm innovation level by empirical research method. Findings The empirical results show that compared with non-spousal-controlled family enterprises, spousal-controlled family enterprises have significant positive effects on the level of enterprise innovation. Further studies suggest that joint management of spousal-controlled family enterprises improves the level of innovation. Authority difference of the couple will weaken the innovation capacity. However, the wife’s professional skills can promote the innovation level. Originality/value Focusing on the characteristics of family internal structure and embedding marriage relationship in the enterprise organization, this paper investigates the influence of different characteristics of husband and wife and cooperation mode on enterprise innovation, and the conclusion enriches the theory of family business and family science, as well as provides important information reference for the stakeholder groups in the capital market.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Santiago ◽  
Fernando Martin Roxas ◽  
John Paolo Rivera ◽  
Eylla Laire Gutierrez

PurposeFamily businesses (FB), mostly small-sized, dominate the tourism and hospitality industry (THI), especially in the rural areas. While many would have been used to the impact of demand seasonality, it is unknown how these businesses would have survived through the restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as compared to non-family business (NFB) counterparts. This study aims to determine if there were differences on how family and non-family enterprises in the THI coped with government restrictions.Design/methodology/approachBy subjecting the survey data from tourism enterprises to non-parametric techniques, the authors establish empirical evidence on similarities and differences of coping strategies adopted by FBs and NFBs; their required support from government and their perceptions of a post-pandemic THI.FindingsThe analysis revealed that family-owned tourism and hospitality businesses in the Philippines tended to collaborate with other businesses to manage the impact of the pandemic restrictions. Since they hired more seasonal workers prior to the restrictions, they tended to avoid hiring workers during the restricted period. NFBs, on the other hand, that were generally larger in size and more professionally managed with more regular employees, tended to streamline operations for greater efficiency.Research limitations/implicationsThe study relied on survey results distributed and collected online. There is an innate bias against those firms that did not have access to the survey links.Practical implicationsThe comparative study suggests that interventions to assist firms in the THI should consider the differences in firm ownership as “one size does not fit all.”Social implicationsThe study provides evidence about how environmental factors impact the operations of family firms. Thus, it provides valuable insights for both the academic community and industry practitioners.Originality/valueThis is the first study in the Philippines that was able to capture response of family and non-family firms in the THI during the COVID-19 lockdown.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Felicitas Gargallo Castel ◽  
Carmen Galve Górriz

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the moderated effect of family involvement on the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach According to agency and transaction cost theories, distinctive family business characteristics provide a unique context that favours a more efficient use of ICT. The authors perform a multivariate analysis that includes the moderating effect of family involvement and considers the possible endogeneity of the ICT variable. Findings The results, using a large panel of Spanish manufacturing firms, confirm the importance of family involvement for explaining differences in terms of the impact of this technology in family and non-family businesses. The relationship between ICT and performance is stronger for family firms than for non-family firms. Research implications The paper provides new evidence for the academic literature on ICT impact and family firms. It corroborates the importance of using an organizational perspective to explain differences in the effect of ICT on performance. Practical implications Family firms should understand the opportunities that family involvement offers regarding ICT impact on performance, and exploit this moderating effect to achieve competitive advantages. Originality/value No previous studies deal with the impact of family involvement on ICT-performance analysis. This study fills this gap and increases the understanding of how family business involvement moderates the ICT-performance relationship.


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 398-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enver Halili ◽  
Ali Salman Saleh ◽  
Rami Zeitun

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the long-term operating performance of family and non-family firms from the agency theoretic perspective. The analysis is focused on investigating the impact of family ownership on principal–agent conflicts of interest. Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines the relationship between firm operating performance and family ownership for a large sample of 677 Australian-listed companies. The paper uses the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) estimator model developed by Arellano and Bond (1991) and used by other studies in finance (Baltagi, 2012; Bond, 2002; Mohamed et al., 2008). Findings – The empirical results show that firms with ownership concentration has a better operating performance due to the alignment of owner-management interests. This study also finds that family-listed companies have higher survival rates and perform better than non-family companies. Findings support the hypothesis that agency costs arise as a result of privileged access of information and self-interest behaviour of managers (outsiders) in firms with dispersed ownership structures. Originality/value – Earlier studies have only focused on short-term perspectives, particularly investigating small and medium types of Australian family businesses from narrow aspects, such as productivity, business behaviour, capital structure and leverage. Therefore, this paper has conducted a comparative examination of family and non-family firms listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) to identify the impact of agency costs on their financial performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehdi Tajpour ◽  
Aidin Salamzadeh ◽  
Yashar Salamzadeh ◽  
Vitor Braga

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate social capital's effect on family business development in selected family media firms.Design/methodology/approachThe statistical population includes 100 individuals who run a family business in this industry. Eighty individuals are selected as the research sample through the stratified random sampling method. The data are collected using a questionnaire. The authors used structural equation modelling method for data analysis.FindingsThe results indicate that social capital affects the development of family businesses in media firms. According to the results obtained from the structural equation test, the effect of the relational dimension of social capital on trust and the effect of the cognitive and structural dimensions of social capital on trust are supported, while the effect of the relational dimension of social capital on commitment as well as the effect of the cognitive dimension of social capital on trust are not supported.Practical implicationsThis research could help family firms in media industries improve trust and commitment by paying attention to different aspects of social capital. Besides, it shows that even the impact of relational and cognitive social capital, respectively, on commitment and trust, are not supported; these two could affect trust and commitment, respectively.Originality/valueThe paper is among the first studies that investigate family firms in media industries. Besides, the relationships between relational, cognitive and structural aspects of social capital and trust and commitment are rarely studied in the literature as two determinants of family business development.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 710-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonglong Zhou ◽  
Qiongjing Hu ◽  
Jingjing Yao ◽  
Xin Qin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of family business owners’ intrafamily succession intention based on the theory of planned behavior and neo-institutional theory. Design/methodology/approach National survey data were collected from Chinese private firms in 2010, and a sample of 804 family firms was used to test the hypotheses. Findings At the micro level, familism, intrafamily succession regulation and family control have positive effects on owners’ intrafamily succession intention. At the macro level, district succession orientation, which is the district prevalence of intrafamily succession practice, has a positive effect on owners’ intrafamily succession intention. Additionally, the district succession orientation weakens the positive effects of intrafamily succession regulation and family control. Originality/value The paper contributes to the understanding of family business owners’ intrafamily succession intention from both micro and macro perspectives. Besides, it also contributes to the integration of micro and macro research by examining the interaction effects.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-264
Author(s):  
Izabella Steinerowska-Streb ◽  
Anna Wziątek-Staśko

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationship between family firms’ innovation output and the continuous knowledge development of owner-managers. Moreover, the study aims to investigate the effect of the level of owner-managers’ educational background on family firms’ innovation. Design/methodology/approach The data originate from a primary research conducted in Poland. A log-linear analysis was used to verify the hypotheses. Findings The findings demonstrate that the positive relationship between the higher levels of education of owner-managers and the innovation output of family firms does not exist. However, the innovativeness of family firms is determined by the continuous development of owner-managers’ knowledge. Family firms whose owner-managers continuously expand their knowledge introduce significantly more product and marketing innovations. This relationship appears independent of firm’s size, type of business activity and owner-managers’ educational level. Practical implications Understanding how the continuous development of owner-managers’ knowledge influence the firm’s innovation output is potentially valuable for managers of family firms. The findings offer also practical suggestions for policymakers on how to support structures that aim to enhance innovation in family enterprises. Originality/value This study contributes to the family business literature by presenting quantitative findings describing links between family firms’ innovation outputs and continuous knowledge development of owner-managers. Thus, the study broadens knowledge on factors determining innovation of family firms and influencing family business heterogeneity.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Rezaur Razzak ◽  
Suaad Jassem ◽  
Alima Akter ◽  
Syed Abdulla Al Mamun

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine the interplay between family commitment as a family-centric resource and professionalization of the organization as a firm-centric resource to determine how the two phenomenon come together to enhance business performance in the context of privately held family firms.Design/methodology/approachDeploying the theoretical lens offered by the resource-based view, a conceptual link is developed between family commitment to the firm and firm performance with the potential moderating influence of firm professionalization. The hypotheses are tested using data collected from 357 privately held medium-to-large family-owned manufacturing companies in Bangladesh. The data are analyzed through structural equation modeling using SmartPLS (v.3.2).FindingsThe data analysis suggests that in absence of the moderator; professionalization, family commitment has a positive and significant association with firm performance. While in the presence of the moderator the above relationship is substantially stronger. The findings indicate that when family-specific resources and firm-specific resources are synchronized, it enhances performance of the family firm and puts it on a strong economic footing toward a more sustainable future.Research limitations/implicationsCross-sectional nature of the study exposes it to the specter of common method bias despite the fact that procedural remedies were initiated to minimize the impact of such occurrence. Furthermore, data were collected from a single individual in each organization. Therefore, a longitudinal study with data obtained from multiple individuals at different levels of the organization would possibly yield more robust findings.Practical implicationsLeaders of family firms may find pertinent clues from the outcome of this study. Particularly, the confluence of family commitment to the firm as a family-specific resource and professionalization as a firm-specific resource can be valuable, rare, difficult to imitate and substitute source of competitive advantage for the family business organization.Social implicationsSurvival of family businesses is vital to the global economy as one of the primary drivers of global gross domestic product growth and source of new employment. Policymakers can benefit from the findings of this study to customize policies to nurture growth of family enterprises and incentivize family firms to adopt professionalization through better governance and transparent managerial procedures.Originality/valueA nuanced understanding of how family commitment and firm professionalization combine to significantly improve performance of family firms has not been dominant in the literature. Therefore, findings of this study carry special theoretical implications, because it suggests that both family-specific features and firm-specific features are necessary for enhanced levels of firm-centric business outcomes such as economic performance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Pratt

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore family business, leadership development, family dynamics, succession, and governance. It is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate family business and leadership courses; and to facilitate dialogue among members of family enterprises to introduce the need to address family dynamics and leadership issues. Design/methodology/approach – This case blends issues arising out of several family firms known to the author. Events, people, details, and location have been merged and adapted into this one case. The case method is used for the purposes of identifying key issues and provoking discussion on areas critical to multi-generational family enterprises. Findings – The case study method allows readers to explore and dialogue possible options for dealing with issues of unexpected family business leadership transition. Practical implications – Every family enterprise generation has unique challenges and opportunities. This case facilitates discussion that helps explore leadership succession issues and leadership development. For family business members, it is vehicle for neutral exploration of possible issues in their own organizations. Originality/value – This is an original case study based on the blending of issues and adaptation from several family firms.


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