Title: Collaborative technology strategies and innovation in family firms

Authors: Daniel Pittino; Francesca Visintin; Massimo Bau'; Paola Mazzurana

Addresses: Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Udine, Via Tomadini, 30/A – I-33100 Udine, Italy ' Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Udine, Via Tomadini, 30/A – I-33100 Udine, Italy ' Centre for Family Enterprise and Ownership, Jönköping International Business School, P.O. Box 1026, 55 111, Jönköping, Sweden ' Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Udine, Via Tomadini, 30/A – I-33100 Udine, Italy

Abstract: Given the fundamental importance of innovation capabilities for firms 'competitiveness worldwide, in this paper we contribute to filling the research gap in the literature on the innovation processes carried out by family firms, focusing in particular on product innovation strategies. We first assess whether family firms, compared with non-family firms, are more likely to engage in explorative or exploitative innovation strategies; then, we focus on the way family firms manage their access to technology (technology sourcing) to pursue product innovation strategies, evaluating: 1) the extent to which family firms activate external networking strategies to carry out product/service innovation; 2) which kind of networking strategy, exploration-or exploitation-oriented, is more likely to be implemented by family firms. Our results suggest that family firms, compared with non-family firms, rely more on exploration-oriented alliances; the technology sourcing strategy tends to shift towards exploitation goals as organisational knowledge codification and formalisation take place.

Keywords: family firms; family businesses; small to medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; innovation; exploration; exploitation; external technology sourcing; collaborative technology; technology strategies; technological innovation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEIM.2013.055226

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2013 Vol.17 No.1/2/3, pp.8 - 27

Received: 02 Apr 2012
Accepted: 24 Jan 2013

Published online: 30 Apr 2014 *

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