Combining Internal and External R&D: The Effects on Innovation Performance in Family and Nonfamily Firms

Fernando Muñoz-Bullón, Maria J. Sanchez-Bueno and Alfredo De Massis
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Fernando Muñoz-Bullón

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2020, vol. 44, issue 5, 996-1031

Abstract: We examine the effect of combining internal and external R&D loci on innovation performance in family firms (FF) and nonfamily firms (non-FFs). Our longitudinal analysis of 27,438 firm-year observations of Spanish manufacturing firms from 1990 to 2016 shows that FFs can better exploit the benefits of simultaneously engaging in internal and external R&D activities, leading to a positive effect on innovation performance. Moreover, the relationship between combined internal and external R&D and innovation performance in FFs is contingent upon firm economic performance. By pointing to the importance of taking into account the combination of internal and external R&D loci to foster innovation in FFs, we challenge current family business innovation research.

Keywords: external R&D; family firm; innovation performance; internal R&D; open innovation; absorptive capacity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:entthe:v:44:y:2020:i:5:p:996-1031

DOI: 10.1177/1042258719879674

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