Absorptive capacity in family firms: exploring the role of the CEO

IF 4.5 2区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research Pub Date : 2024-02-27 DOI:10.1108/ijebr-02-2023-0123

Lucía Garcés-Galdeano, Josip Kotlar, Ana Lucía Caicedo-Leitón, Martín Larraza-Kintana, Federico Frattini

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose

Absorptive capacity (AC), the ability to leverage external knowledge for innovation, helps explain the mixed findings on family firms' (FFs) innovation performance. Our research focuses on the chief executive officer (CEO)’s role – whether family or non-family and founding or later generation – in influencing AC. We also explore how firm size and environmental dynamism affect these relationships, offering insights into varying AC levels among FFs.

Design/methodology/approach

Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models were estimated to test the hypotheses using a sample of 364 FFs in Spain.

Findings

FFs’ AC is greater when the CEO is a family member, and even more so when the family CEO belongs to the founding family generation. While AC diminishes in larger FFs, this effect is mitigated when the CEO is a family member. The predicted moderating effect of environmental dynamics is not supported by the analyses.

Originality/value

This paper adds insights about the drivers of heterogeneity in innovation among FFs, addressing recent calls for more nuanced views of how family members drive the strategic behavior of the business and incorporating considerations of different types of FFs based on the identity of the firm CEO. The results overall support the theoretical claims and also open up important questions for future studies.

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家族企业的吸收能力：探索首席执行官的作用

目的吸收能力（AC），即利用外部知识进行创新的能力，有助于解释关于家族企业（FFs）创新绩效的各种结论。我们的研究重点是首席执行官（CEO）在影响吸收能力方面的作用--无论是家族企业还是非家族企业，创始一代还是非创始一代。我们还探讨了公司规模和环境动态如何影响这些关系，从而为了解 FFs 之间不同的交流水平提供了见解。研究结果当首席执行官是家族成员时，FFs 的交流水平更高，而当家族首席执行官属于创始家族一代时，交流水平更高。虽然规模较大的 FF 的 AC 会降低，但当 CEO 是家族成员时，这种影响会得到缓解。本文对 FFs 创新异质性的驱动因素提出了新的见解，回应了近期关于家族成员如何推动企业战略行为的更细致观点的呼吁，并根据公司 CEO 的身份纳入了对不同类型 FFs 的考虑。研究结果总体上支持了理论主张，同时也为今后的研究提出了重要问题。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research Multiple-

CiteScore

10.20

自引率

16.40%

发文量

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research (IJEBR) has a unique focus on publishing original research related to the human and social dynamics of entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial management in small and growing organizations. The journal has an international perspective on entrepreneurship and publishes conceptual papers and empirical studies which bring together issues of interest to academic researchers and educators, policy-makers and practitioners worldwide.The editorial team encourages high-quality submissions which advance the study of human and behavioural dimensions of entrepreneurship and smaller organizations. Examples of topics which illustrate the scope of the journal are provided below. Topicality Nascent entrepreneurship and new venture creation Management development and learning in smaller businesses Enterprise and entrepreneurship education, learning and careers Entrepreneurial psychology and cognition Management and transition in smaller, growing and family-owned enterprises Corporate entrepreneurship and venturing Entrepreneurial teams, management and organizations Social, sustainable and informal entrepreneurship National and international policy, historical and cultural studies in entrepreneurship Gender, minority and ethnic entrepreneurship Innovative research methods and theoretical development in entrepreneurship Resourcing and managing innovation in entrepreneurial ventures.