Innovation Motives in Family Firms: A Transgenerational View

Vanessa Diaz-Moriana, Eric Clinton, Nadine Kammerlander, G. T. Lumpkin and Justin B. Craig

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2020, vol. 44, issue 2, 256-287

Abstract: Drawing on the transgenerational entrepreneurship perspective, we employ a multiple case study approach to investigate why multigenerational family firms innovate. The data collection process drew upon five in-depth cases comprising 42 semistructured interviews, 25 participant observations, and several thousand pages of historical data dating from 1916 to 2017. We find patterns on how the firms’ long-term view—embracing both the past and the future—influences the innovation motives of these firms. Specifically, we identify three innovation patterns: conserving, persisting and legacy-building . We introduce a set of propositions and a framework linking long-term orientation dimensions to innovation motives and innovation outcomes. Our research thus contributes to a more fine-grained understanding of innovation behavior in family firms.

Keywords: innovation; long-term orientation; family business; transgenerational entrepreneurship (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:entthe:v:44:y:2020:i:2:p:256-287

DOI: 10.1177/1042258718803051

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