Family firms’ selective learning-by-exporting: product vs process innovation and the role of technological capabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Freixanet ◽  
Joaquin Monreal ◽  
Gregorio Sánchez-Marín

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how family governance and technological capabilities influence the conversion of new knowledge obtained from exports into various innovation outputs, a phenomenon called “learning-by-exporting (LBE).” Design/methodology/approach To properly examine the causal links proposed in the study, first, the control for endogeneity. Second, a propensity-score matching longitudinal analysis is conducted, a particularly robust empirical method that enhances reliability in non-experimental data, over an average sample of 663 manufacturing companies for the period 2007 to 2014. Findings Family firms’ innovation strategies and abilities render them more likely to convert the new knowledge from exporting into product innovation and more efficient in this endeavor than non-family firms. This diverts family firms’ typically limited resources from process innovation, and they have a smaller LBE effect than non-family firms in terms of process innovation. Originality/value The study contributes to the internationalization literature by producing a more nuanced view of the learning-by-exporting effect which considers the type of innovation outcomes developed following export activity. It also helps to identify some of the firm-specific factors that shape the relationship between exports and innovation, by empirically examining for the first time the role of family governance in innovation capabilities and decisions.

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Fathi Al-Sa’di ◽  
Ayman Bahjat Abdallah ◽  
Samer Eid Dahiyat

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of knowledge management (KM) on product and process innovations, as well as on operational performance (OP). In addition, the effects of product and process innovations on OP, as well as their mediating effects on the relationship between KM and OP, are also investigated. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire-based survey was designed and used to collect data from 207 manufacturing companies operating in the Jordanian capital Amman. To assess construct validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. To test research hypotheses, the bootstrap re-sampling method was applied using Hayes’s SPSS multiple-mediator PROCESS macro. Findings The results indicate that KM has significant positive effects on product and process innovations, and OP. Process innovation was found to have a significant positive effect on OP, while product innovation was not. Furthermore, only process innovation was found to significantly mediate the KM-OP relationship. Practical implications The findings of this study provide useful insights about the role of KM in facilitating and enhancing product and process innovations, as well as OP in the surveyed manufacturing companies. An important implication concerns the roles of product and process innovations. Manufacturing companies seeking improvements in their OP are recommended to focus on process innovation rather than product innovation. While product innovation may affect other aspects of performance, such as market and financial ones, it was not found to significantly affect OP. Process innovation can also leverage KM’s contribution to manufacturing companies’ OP. Originality/value This is a pioneering study in that it developed an integrated model that depicts the interrelationships among KM, product innovation and process innovation and OP, in a developing country context.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria José Parada ◽  
Claudio Müller ◽  
Alberto Gimeno

Purpose This paper highlights the importance of understanding family firms in different contexts. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the characteristics and behavior of family firms in Ibero-America, and their contribution and fit to the broader field of research. Based on the five articles in this special issue, this paper attempts to give an overview of their main contributions. Design/methodology/approach This paper explains in a contextual and analytical way the contributions of five papers that focus their attention on Ibero-American family firms, by linking them to the current research in the field and finding their fit within the broader field of family business. Tackling different topics, these five papers discuss about the comparison between family vs non-family businesses, innovation in family firms, and governance in family firms Findings Findings suggest that there is a need to stimulate research in family business in Ibero-America, especially Latin America, regarding family business dynamics, the different roles of the family within the enterprise, family governance, and the role of women. With regards to innovation the cultural and economic context play an important role in how they perform innovative activities. Originality/value This paper contributes to further understanding family firms by discussing the importance of the context and by linking all five papers with the broader literature in family business. The introduction also discusses topics worth to be further researched in Ibero-America.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ria Nelly Sari ◽  
Aura Pratadina ◽  
Rita Anugerah ◽  
Kamaliah Kamaliah ◽  
Zuraidah Mohd Sanusi

PurposeThis study aims to determine (1) the effect of environmental management accounting on organizational performance and (2) the mediating effect of process innovation on the relationship between environmental management accounting and organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses survey methods designed for management accountants of large manufacturing companies in Indonesia. Data from 123 respondents were analyzed using the WarpPLS.FindingsThe implementation of environmental management accounting exerted a positive effect on organizational performance. It is evident that the implementation of environmental management accounting encourages companies to innovate processes which will improve how well the organization performs.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings still contained several limitations such as data were only collected from one province in Indonesia, and so the findings might not be generalizable to other provinces in Indonesia. Also, the number of variables studied only involved three. The study only focused on certain dimensions of environmental management accounting without considering other dimensions in-depth.Practical implicationsThese findings extend the literature on environmental management accounting and demonstrate, from a practical perspective, environmental management accounting (EMA), which prioritizes the environment, will encourage companies to innovate their processes so that they are more environmentally friendly; EMA recognizes the important role of accountants in managing environmental issues.Originality/valueThis study documents the importance of environmental management accounting to assist companies in getting accurate information on environmental issues and environmental costs.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidya Sukumara Panicker ◽  
Rajesh Srinivas Upadhyayula

PurposeThis paper attempts to examine the activity and involvement of board of directors in internationalization activities of firms in emerging markets, by evaluating the resource provisioning roles of interlocks provided by board of directors, and the frequency of board meetings. We demonstrate that the effectiveness of board involvement is contingent upon the levels of family ownership in firms since family ownership could impact the firm’s ability to utilize the presence of different types of board members.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test our hypotheses on a sample of listed Indian companies, extracted from the Prowess database published by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a database of the financial performance of Indian companies. On a panel of 3,133 firm years of 605 unique Indian firms with foreign investments, over a time period of 2006–2017, the authors apply different estimation techniques.FindingsThe results demonstrate that both board meeting frequency and director interlocks are instrumental in supporting internationalization activities in emerging market firms. However, family ownership moderates the role of insider and independent interlocks on internationalization investments in different ways; the authors find that interlocks provided by independent directors support internationalization activities in family firms, whereas those provided by insider directors do not. Further, the study also finds that board meetings are less effective in internationalization of family firms.Practical implicationsThe authors conclude that family firms aiming at international diversification require to develop more connected and networked independent directors to enable internationalization in firms. While independent director interlocks enhance the international investments, it is also useful to know that board meetings are ineffective in utilizing the resources in family firms. This points to the possibility that family firms should device mechanisms to integrate family meetings with board meetings so that they can utilize the within-family processes to aid in their internationalization decisions.Originality/valueThe study contributes to resource dependence theory by understanding its limiting role in family firms. Theoretically, it helps delineate the limiting resource provision role of the insider directors vis-à-vis independent directors. The authors argue that the resource provision role of insider director interlocks does not effectively help in internationalization in comparison to independent director interlocks in family-dominated firms. Consequently, the study shows the limiting role of resource provision and utilization by family-owned firms in comparison to non-family-owned firms.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuan Luu

Purpose The interaction between opening and closing behaviors of ambidextrous leadership produces “change” force throughout the organization in proactive response to market forces. This research aims to assess the role of ambidextrous leadership in fostering entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market responsiveness. The research also seeks an insight into how external supply chain integration moderates the positive effect of EO on market responsiveness. Design/methodology/approach Research data were collected from 327 meso-level managers and 517 subordinates from chemical manufacturing companies in the Vietnam business context. Findings Research findings shed light on the positive effect of ambidextrous leadership on EO, which in turn contributes to market responsiveness. The moderation role that external supply chain integration plays on the EO–market responsiveness linkage was also grounded on the data set. Originality/value Through the identification of the predictive roles of ambidextrous leadership and EO for market responsiveness, the current research indicates the convergence between leadership, EO and market responsiveness research streams.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anderson Betti Frare ◽  
Ilse Maria Beuren

PurposeThis paper analyzes the mediating role of green process innovation in the relationships of green entrepreneurial orientation and proactive sustainability strategy with environmental performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyze data from 81 Brazilian agriculture technology startups (AgTechs) using partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).FindingsThe results show that the green process innovation assumes an important role in AgTechs, promoting full mediations between green entrepreneurial orientation and proactive sustainability strategy with environmental performance. There are two ways for AgTechs to achieve high environmental performance. In both, green process innovation is a central condition, while green entrepreneurial orientation or proactive sustainability strategy is a complementary condition.Research limitations/implicationsThis study demonstrates how internal elements (green entrepreneurial orientation, proactive sustainability strategy and green process innovation) improve environmental performance. This answers calls to explore which elements translate green entrepreneurial orientation and proactive sustainability strategies into environmental performance, by highlighting the mediating role of green process innovation.Practical implicationsThe findings are useful for founders and managers of AgTechs to find ways to manage sustainable technological advancement and cleaner production in agribusiness.Originality/valueThis study analyses the interface between sustainable entrepreneurship, strategy and innovation in promoting environmental performance of AgTechs from an emerging economy country.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zulfiqar ◽  
Shihua Chen ◽  
Muhammad Usman Yousaf

PurposeOn the basis of behavioural agency theory and resource-based view, this study investigates the influence of family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established), family entering time on R&D investment and the moderating role of the family entering time on the relationship between birth mode and R&D investment.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected 2,990 firm-year observations from family firms listed on A-share in China from 2008 to 2016 in the China Stock Market and Accounting Research database. They used pooled regression for data analysis and Tobit regression for robustness checks.FindingsIndirect-established family firms show more inclined behaviour towards R&D investment than direct-established counterparts. Family entering time positively affects the R&D investment of family firms. Moreover, family entering time plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established) and R&D investment.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is a pioneering study that introduced the concept of family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established) and family entering time. This work is novel because it differentiated family firms according to their birth modes, an approach which is a contribution to the existing literature of family firms. Moreover, the investigation of the moderating role of family entering time has also produced notable results that help understand the impact of family entering time on different types of family firms. The interpretation of outcomes according to behavioural agency theory also produced useful insights for future researchers as well as for policymakers.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akif Cicek ◽  
Rüveyda Kelleci ◽  
Pieter Vandekerkhof

PurposeFamily governance mechanisms serve to govern and strengthen relations between the family and the business, as well as the relationships between the members of the business family itself. However, despite agreement on the importance of adopting family governance structures, explicit research on the determinants of family governance mechanisms is currently missing. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to uncover the determinants of family meetings. In order to do so, the social systems theory is used to unravel several determining factors of this crucial form of family governance mechanisms in private family firms.Design/methodology/approachThe authors perform a qualitative study by conducting semi-structured interviews in eight Belgian private family firms in order to discover the antecedents of the implementation of family meetings. The authors use a pattern-matching technique as an analytical strategy.FindingsThe findings of the study highlight the importance of “soft,” relational, qualitative issues as antecedents of family meetings as opposed to previous research on family governance, which predominantly focused on “hard,” quantitative measures (e.g. family ownership). The findings of the study also provide novel insights into the origins of the family component (i.e. family meetings) of family business governance.Originality/valueWhile the current literature has only focused on describing the different types of family governance and their positive consequences for the family firm, the authors take a step back to explain why family meetings, as a form of family governance, are adopted in the first place. Second, the authors demonstrate the instrumentality of the social systems theory in understanding the family's needs that necessitate the implementation of family governance mechanisms.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 3225-3237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surendra Kumar Sia ◽  
Pravakar Duari

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution of agentic work behaviour and decision-making authority (DMA) to thriving at work and, more importantly, the moderating role of DMA in the relationship between agentic behaviour and thriving.Design/methodology/approachThe study has been carried out upon a random sample of 330 employees below supervisory level from manufacturing companies located at Odisha (a state located at the eastern part of India). After verifying the significance of correlation among the study variables through Pearson’s product moment correlation, moderated regression analyses were carried out to examine the independent contribution of agentic work behaviour and DMA to thriving as well as the moderating contribution of DMA towards thriving.FindingsResults reveal that the three dimensions of agentic work behaviour, namely, task focus, exploration and heedful relation, have a direct positive contribution towards thriving at workplace. As far as the moderation is concerned, it is observed that the thriving level is higher for the employees having high DMA irrespective of the level of agentic work behaviour at each dimension.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings imply for designing interventions to enhance task focus, super-ordinate relationship and interest for learning. In addition, the organisations should provide autonomy to employees for decision making.Originality/valueThe study is first of its kind in the Indian context upon employee thriving. In this study, the authors have not only investigated the separate independent contribution of agentic behaviour and DMA, but also their interacting contribution to employee thriving.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Asni ◽  
Dian Agustia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of financial performance (FP) in modelling the relationship between green innovation (GI) and firm value (FV), using ASEAN countries as sample with panel analysis.Design/methodology/approachA panel data was collected from 374 publicly traded companies in six ASEAN countries, and was analysed using feasible general least squares (FGLS) to control heteroscedasticity and serial correlation.FindingsThe findings suggest that financial performance, namely return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), has a significant value in mediating the relationship between GI and FV. This illustrates that investors in the ASEAN region's capital market are more interested in the economic motivation for companies implementing GI. Other findings also provide evidence that ROA and ROE have positive and significant effects on FV. This indicates that the profitability resulting from a firm's ability to continuously innovate has a positive impact on the creation of value by manufacturing companies in the ASEAN region.Research limitations/implicationsThe number of observations is still relatively limited, from manufacturing companies listed on stock exchanges in the ASEAN countries. The total number of samples used in this study was 374 companies with 22.30% of the total population.Originality/valueThis study combines the different types of secondary data to provide panel evidence on the mediating effect of financial performance using ROA and ROE in the relationship between green innovation and firm value, using ASEAN countries as the sample.


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