Relational Antecedents of Innovation in Family Firms: The Complexity Role of Non-Family Employees' Commitment

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24310/ejfbejfb.v10i2.10006

Keywords:

Family business, Non-family employees, Social capital, Commitment, Innovation

Abstract

A better understanding of the relational antecedents of innovation in family firms is central to explaining their long-term success and survival. Our study proposes an original model that shows that the internal social capital of non-family members does not always foster innovation directly as existing theory suggests, but through their organizational commitment. These results differ across the different dimensions of organizational commitment. Therefore, our study challenges existing thinking on commitment studies by offering theoretical grounding and empirical evidence that neglected dimensions of commitment have a crucial intermediate role in the relationship between internal social capital and innovation in family firms.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Adler, P. S., & Kwon, S. (2002). Social capital: Prospects for a new concept. Academy Management Review, 27(1), 17-40.

Amason, A. C., & Sapienza, H. J. (1997). The effects of top management team size and interaction norms on cognitive and affective conflict. Journal of Management, 23(4), 495-516.

Armstrong-Stassen, M. (2006). Determinants of how managers cope with organisational downsizing. Applied Psychology, 55(1), 1-26.

Arregle, J. L., Hitt, M. A., Sirmon, D. G., & Very, P. (2007). The development of organizational social capital: Attributes of family firms. Journal of Management Studies, 44(1), 73-95.

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bansal, H. S., Irving, P. G., & Taylor, S. F. (2004). A three component model of customer commitment to service providers. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32(3), 234-250.

Barbero, J. L., Casillas, J. C., & Feldman, H. D. (2011). Managerial capabilities and paths to growth as determinants of high-growth small and medium-sized enterprises. International Small Business Journal, 29(6), 671-694.

Barnett, T., & Kellermanns, F. W. (2006). Are we family and are we treated as family? nonfamily employees' perceptions of justice in the family firm. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 30(6), 837-853.

Basco, R., & Voordeckers, W. (2015). The relationship between the board of directors and firm performance in private family firms: A test of the demographic versus behavioral approach. Journal of Management & Organization, 21(4), 411-435.

Bergman, M. E. (2006). The relationship between affective and normative commitment: Review and research agenda. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(5), 645-663.

Bettencourt, L. A., & Brown, S. W. (1997). Contact employees: Relationships among workplace fairness, job satisfaction, and prosocial service behaviors. Journal of Retailing, 73(1), 39-61.

Block, J. (2011). How to pay nonfamily managers in large family firms: A principal-agent model. Family Business Review, 24(1), 9-27.

Blyler, M., & Coff, R. W. (2003). Dynamic capabilities, social capital, and rent appropriation: Ties that split pies. Strategic Management Journal, 24(7), 677-686.

Boeker, W. (1997). Executive migration and strategic change: The effect of top manager movement on product market entry. Administrative Science Quartely, 42(1), 231-236.

Boszormenyi-Nagy, I., Grunebaum, J., & Ulrich, D. (1991). Contextual therapy. In A. S. Gurman, & D. P. Kniskern (Eds.), Handbook of family therapy (pp. 200-238). New York: Brunner.

Brass, D. J., Galaskiewicz, J., Greve, H. R., & Tsai, W. (2004). Taking stock of networks and organizations: A multilevel perspective. Academy Management Journal, 47(1), 795-817.

Buchanan, B. (1974). Building organizational commitment: The socialization of managers in work organizations. Administrative Science Quartely, 19(4), 533-546.

Cabrera-Suarez, M. K., Deniz-Deniz, M. C., & Martin-Santana, J. D. (2015). Family social capital, trust within the TMT, and the establishment of corporate goals related to nonfamily stakeholders. Family Business Review, 28(2), 145-162.

Camelo-Ordaz, C., Garcia-Cruz, J., Sousa-Ginel, E., & Valle-Cabrera, R. (2011). The influence of human resource management on knowledge sharing and innovation in spain: The mediating role of affective commitment. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(7), 1442-1463.

Capaldo, A. (2007). Network structure and innovation: The leveraging of a dual network as a distinctive relational capability. Strategic Management Journal, 28(6), 585-608.

Carnes, C. M., & Ireland, R. D. (2013). Familiness and innovation: Resource bundling as the missing link. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 37(6), 1399-1419.

Carrasco-Hernandez, A., & Jimenez-Jimenez, D. (2013). Can family firms innovate? sharing internal knowledge from a social capital perspective. Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 11(1), 30-37.

Chen, H., & Hsu, W. (2009). Family ownership, board independence, and R&D investment. Family Business Review, 22(4), 347-362.

Chen, M., Chang, Y., & Hung, S. (2008). Social capital and creativity in R&D project teams. R&D Management, 38(1), 21-33.

Chirico, F., & Salvato, C. (2016). Knowledge internalization and product development in family firms: When relational and affective factors matters. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 40(1), 201-229.

Chua, J. H., Chrisman, J. J., & Sharma, P. (1999). Defining the family business by behavior. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 23(4), 19-39.

Coff, R., & Rousseau, D. J. V. I. (2000). Sustainable competitive advantage from relational wealth. In C. R. Leana, & D. M. Rousseau (Eds.), Relational wealth: The advantages of stability in a changing economy (pp. 27-48). New York: Oxford University Press.

Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94(S), S95-S120.

Corbetta, G., & Salvato, C. (2004). Self-serving or self-actualizing? models of man and agency costs in different types of family firms: A commentary on "comparing the agency costs of family and non-family firms: Conceptual issues and exploratory evidence". Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , 355-362.

Davis, J. H., Schoorman, F. D., & Donaldson, L. (1997). Toward a stewarship theory and management. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 20-47.

Dawson, A., Sharma, P., Irving, P. G., Marcus, J., & Chirico, F. (2015). Predictors of later-generation family members' commitment to family enterprises. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(3), 545-569.

De Massis, A., Audretsch, D. B., Uhlaner, L. M., & Kammerlander, N. (2018). Innovation with limited resources: Management lessons form the german mittelstand. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 35(1), 125-146.

Duran, P., Kammerlander, N., Van Essen, M., & Zellweger, T. (2016). Doing more with less: Innovation input and output in family firms. Academy Management Journal, 59(4), 1224-1264.

Dyer Jr., W. G. (2003). The family: The missing variable in organizational research. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 27(4), 401-406.

Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A. G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41(4), 1149-1160.

García-Morales, V. J., Lloréns-Montes, F. J., & Verdú-Jover, A. J. (2008). The effects of transformational leadership on organizational performance through knowledge and innovation. British Journal of Management, 19(4), 299-319.

Gedajlovic, E. R., Honig, B., Moore, C. B., Payne, G. T., & Wright, M. (2013). Social capital and entrepreneurship: A schema and research agenda. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 37(3), 455-478.

Gellatly, I. R., Meyer, J. P., & Luchak, A. A. (2006). Combined effects of the three commitment components on focal and discretionary behaviors: A test of meyer and herscovitch's propositions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69(2), 331-345.

Graham, J. W. (1991). An essay on organizational citizenship behavior. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 4(4), 249-270.

Granovetter, M. S. (1982). The strength of weak ties: A network theory revisited. In P. V. Marsden, & N. Lin (Eds.), Social structure and network analysis (pp. 201-233). Beverly Hills: Sage.

Hackett, R. D., Bycio, P., & Hausdorf, P. A. (1994). Further assessments of meyer and allen's (1991) three-component model of organizational commitment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(1), 15-23.

Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., & Thiele, K. O. (2017). Mirror, mirror on the wall: A comparative evaluation of composite-based structural equation modeling methods. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45(5), 1-17.

Handler, W. C. (1992). The succession experience of next-generation. Family Business Review, 5(3), 283-307.

Hansen, M. T., Poldony, J. M., & Pfeffer, J. (2001). So many ties, so little time: A task contingency perspective on corporate social capital in organizations. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 18(1), 21-57.

Harrison, D. A., Newman, D. A., & Roth, P. L. (2006). How important are job attitudes? meta-analytic comparisons of integretive behavioral outcomes and time sequences. Academy Management Journal, 49(2), 305-325.

Hatak, I., Kautonen, T., Fink, M., & Kansikas, J. (2016). Innovativeness and family-firm performance: The moderating effect of family commitment. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 102(1), 120-131.

Henseler, J., Dijkstra, T. K., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., Diamantopoulos, A., Straub, D. W., . . . Calantone, R. J. (2014). Common beliefs and reality about partial least squares: Comments on rönkkö & evermann (2013). Organizational Research Methods, 17(2), 182-209.

Herscovitch, L., & Meyer, J. P. (2002). Commitment to organizational change: Extension of a three-component model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(3), 474-487.

Hislop, D. (2003). Linking human resource management and knowledge management via commitment: A review and research agenda. Employee Relations, 25(2), 182-202.

Hoegl, M., Parboteeah, K. P., & Gemuenden, H. G. (2003). When a teamwork really matters: Task innovativeness as a moderator of the teamwork performance relationship in software development projects. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 20(4), 281-302.

House, R. J., & Mitchell, T. R. (1974). Path-goal theory of leadership. Journal of Contemporary Business, 3(4), 81-97.

Howorth, C., Rose, M. B., Hamilton, E., & Westhead, P. (2010). Family firm diversity and development: An introduction. International Small Business Journal, 28(5), 437-451.

Huy, Q. N., Corley, K. G., & Kraatz, M. S. (2014). From support to mutiny: Shifting legitimacy judgments and emotional reactions impacting the implementation of radical change. Academy of Management Journal, 57(6), 1650-1680.

Iverson, R. D. (1996). Employee acceptance of organizational change: The role of organizational commitment. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 7(1), 122-149.

Johnson, L. K. (2005). The new loyalty: Make it work for your company. Harvard Management Update, 10(3), 3-5.

Johnson, R. E., & Yang, L. Q. (2010). Commitment and motivation at work: The relevance of employee identity and regulatory focus. Academy Management Review, 35(2), 226-245.

Jones, T., & Taylor, S. F. (2007). The nature and dimensionality of service loyalty: How many dimensions? Journal of Services Marketing, 27(1), 36-51.

Kets de Vries, M. F. R. (1993). The dynamics of famiy controlled firms: The good news and the bad news. Organisational Dynamics, 21(3), 59-71.

Ko, J. W., Price, J. L., & Mueller, C. W. (1997). Assessment of meyer and allen's three-component model of organizational commitment in south korea. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(6), 961-972.

Kuvaas, B.,. (2006). Work performance, affective commitment, and work motivation: The roles of pay administration and pay level. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(3), 365-385.

Kwon, S., & Adler, P. S. (2014). Social capital: Maturation of a field of research. Academy Management Review, 39(4), 412-422.

Lapointe, E., & Vandenberghe, C. (2017). Supervisory mentoring and affective commitment and turnover: The critical role of contextual factors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98(1), 98-107.

Leonard, D., & Sensiper, S. (1998). The role of tacit knowledge in group innovation. California Management Review, 40(3), 112-132.

Lin, C. O., Tsai, Y. H., & Chiu, C. K. (2009). Modeling customer loyalty form an integrative perspective of self-determination theory and expectation-confirmation theory. Journal of Business and Psychology, 24(3), 315-326.

Loi, R., Hang-Yue, N., & Foley, S. (2006). Linking employees' justice perceptions to organizational commitment and intetion to leave: The mediating role of perceived organizational support. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 79(1), 101-120.

Luchak, A. A., & Gellatly, I. R. (2007). A comparison of linear and nonlinear relations between organizational commitment and work outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(3), 786-793.

Lumpkin, G. T., Martin, W., & Vaughn, M. (2008). Family orientation: Individual-level influences on family firm outcomes. Family Business Review, 21(2), 127-138.

Matzler, K., Renzl, B., Mooradian, T., Von Krogh, G., & Mueller, J. (2011). Personality traits, affective commitment, documentation knowledge, and knowledge sharing. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(2), 296-310.

Maurer, I., Bartsch, V., & Ebers, M. (2011). The value of intra-organizational social capital: How it fosters knowledge transfer, innovation performance, and growth. Organization Studies, 32(2), 157-185.

Maurer, I., & Ebers, M. (2006). Dynamics of social capital and their performance implications: Lessons from biotechnology start-ups. Administrative Science Quartely, 51(2), 262-292.

McGee, G. W., & Ford, R. C. (1987). Two (or more?) dimensions of organizational commitment: Reexamination of the affective and continuance commitment scales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72(4), 638-641.

Melin, L., & Nordqvist, M. (2007). The reflexive dynamics of institutionalization: The case of the family business. Strategic Organization, 5(3), 321-333.

Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human Resource Management, 1(1), 61-89.

Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1997). Commitment in the workplace. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Meyer, J. P., Allen, N. J., & Smith, C. A. (1993). Commitment to organizations and occupations: Extension and test of a three-component conceptualization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(4), 538-551.

Meyer, J. P., Becker, T. E., & Van Dick, R. (2006). Social identities and commitments at work: Towad an integrative model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(5), 665-683.

Meyer, J. P., & Herscovitch, L. (2001). Commitment in the workplace: Toward a general model. Human Resource Management Review, 11(3), 299-326.

Meyer, J. P., Stanley, L. J., Herscovitch, L., & Topolnytsky, L. (2002). Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization: A meta-analysis of antecedents, correlates, and consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61(1), 20-52.

Miller, D., & Friesen, P. H. (1983). Strategy-making and environment: The third link. Strategic Management Journal, 4(3), 221-235.

Miller, D., Le Breton-Miller, I., Lester, R. H., & Cannella, A. A. (2007). Are family firms really superior performers? Journal of Corporate Finance, 13(5), 829-858.

Miller, D., Minichilli, A., & Corbetta, G. (2013). Is family leadership always beneficial? Strategic Management Journal, 34(5), 553-571.

Miller, D., Wright, M., Le Breton-Miller, I., & Scholes, L. (2015). Resources and innovation in family business. California Management Review, 58(1), 20-40.

Miller, D., Xu, X., & Mehrotra, V. (2015). When is human capital a valuable resource? the perfromance effects of ivy league selection among celebrated CEOs. Strategic Management Journal, 36(6), 930-944.

Molly, V., Laveren, E., & Deloof, M. (2010). Family business succession and its impact on financial structure and performance. Family Business Review, 23(2), 131-147.

Moran, P. (2005). Structural vs. relational embeddedness: Social capital and managerial performance. Strategic Management Journal, 26(12), 1129-1151.

Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy Management Review, 23(2), 242-266.

Niehm, L. S., Swinney, J., & Miller, N. J. (2008). Community social responsibility and its consequences for family business performance. Journal of Small Business Management, 46(3), 331-350.

Nielsen, B. B. (2005). The role of knowledge embeddedness in the creation of synergies in strategic alliances. Journal of Business Venturing, 58(9), 1194-1204.

Nielsen, B. B., & Nielsen, S. (2009). Learning and innovation in international strategic alliances: An empirical test of the role of trust and tacitness. Journal of Management Studies, 46(6), 1031-1056.

Nitzl, C., Roldan, J. L., & Cepeda, G. (2016). Mediation analysis in partial least squares path modeling: Helping researchers discuss more sophisticated models. Industrial Management and Data Systems, 116(9), 1849-1864.

Oh, H., Chung, M. H., & Labianca, G. (2004). Group social capital and group effectiveness: The role of informal socializing ties. Academy Management Journal, 47(5), 860-875.

Oppenheim, A. N. (1966). Questionnaire design and attitude measurement Basic Books.

Patel, P. C., & Fiet, J. O. (2011). Knowledge combination and the potential advantages of family firms in searching for opportunities. Journal of Management Studies, 35(6), 1179-1197.

Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879-903.

Podsakoff, P. M., & Organ, D. W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and procedures. Journal of Management, 12(4), 531-544.

Portes, A. (1998). Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 1-24.

Qureshi, I., & Compeau, D. (2009). Assessing between-group differences in information systems research: A comparison of covariance-and component-based SEM. MIS Quarterly, 33(1), 197-214.

Ram, M. (2001). Family dynamics in a small consultancy firm: A case study. Human Relations, 54(4), 395-418.

Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Roldan, J. L., Jaafar, M., & Ramayah, T. (2017). Factors influencing residents' perceptions toward tourism development: Diferences across rural and urban world heritage sites. Journal of Travel Research, 56(6), 760-775.

Reiss, D., & Olivery, M. E. (1991). The family's conception of accountability and competence: A new apporach to the conceptualization and assessment of family stress. Family Process, 30(2), 193-214.

Röd, I. (2016). Disentangling the family firm's innovation potential: A typology of family business innovation postures and the critical role of the family system. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 7(3), 185-201.

Roldan, J. L., & Sanchez-Franco, M. J. (2012). Variance-based structural equation modeling: Guidelines for using partial least squares in information systems research. In M. Mora, A. Gelman, A. Steenkamp & M. Raisinghani (Eds.), Research methodologies, innovations and philosophies in software systems engineering and information systems (pp. 193-221). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Ruekert, R. W., & Walker Jr, O. C. (1987). Marketing's interaction with other functional units: A conceptual framework and empirical evidence. Journal of Marketing, 51(1), 1-19.

Sanchez-Famoso, V., Akhter, N., Iturralde, T., Chirico, F., & Maseda, A. (2015). Is non-family social capital also (or especially) important for family firm performance? Human Relations, 68(11), 1713-1743.

Sanchez-Famoso, V., Maseda, A., & Iturralde, T. (2014). The role of internal social capital in organisational innovation. an empirical study of family firms. European Management Journal, 32(6), 950-962.

Sanchez-Famoso, V., Maseda, A., & Iturralde, T. (2017). Family involvement in top management team: Impact on relationships between internal social capital and innovation. Journal of Management & Organization, 23(1), 136-162.

Sanchez-Famoso, V., Pittino, D., Chirico, F., Maseda, A., & Iturralde, T. (2019). Social capital and innovation in family firms. the moderating roles of family control and generational involvement. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 35(3), 1-13.

Santoro, G., Ferraris, A., Giacosa, E., & Giovando, G. (2018). How SMEs engage in open innovation: A survey. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 9(2), 561-574.

Sarstedt, M., Henseler, J., & Ringle, C. M. (2011). Multigroup analysis in partial least squares (PLS) path modeling: Alternative methods and empirical results. In M. Sarstedt, M. Schwaiger & C. R. Taylor (Eds.), Measurement and research methods in international marketing (pp. 195-218). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The theory of economic development: An inquiry into profits, capital, credit, interest, and the business cycle. New Jersey: Harvard Economic Studies.

Sharma, P., & Irving, P. G. (2005). Four bases of family business successor commitment: Antecedents and consequences. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29(1), 13-33.

Sieger, P., Bernhard, F., & Frey, U. (2011). Affective commitment and job satisfaction among non-family employees: Investigating the roles of justice perceptions and psychological ownership. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 2(2), 78-89.

Solinger, O. N., Olffen, W., & Roe, R. A. (2008). Beyond the three-component model of organizational commitment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 70-83.

Sonfield, M. C., & Lussier, R. N. (2009). Non-family-members in the family business management team: A multinational investigation. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 5(4), 395-415.

Talke, K., Salomo, S., & Rost, K. (2010). How top management team diversity affects innovativeness and performance via the strategic choice to focus on innovation fields. Research Policy, 39(7), 907-918.

Tsai, W., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital and value creation: The role of intrafirm networks. Academy Management Journal, 41(4), 464-476.

Uzzi, B. (1997). Social structure and competition in interfirm networks: The paradox of embeddedness. Administrative Science Quartely, 42(1), 35-67.

Vallejo-Martos, M. C. (2009). The effects of commitment of non-family employees of family firms from the perspective of stewardship theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(3), 379-390.

Vallejo-Martos, M. C., & Puentes-Poyatos, R. (2014). Family firms as incubators for ethical behavior: An exploratory study from the perspective of stewardship theory. Journal of Management & Organization, 20(6), 784-807.

Wagner, W. G., Pfeffer, J., & O'Reilly, C. A. (1984). Organizational demography and turnover in top-management group. Administrative Science Quartely, 29(1), 74-92.

Werbel, J. D., & Danes, S. M. (2010). Work family conflict in new business ventures: The moderating effects of spousal commitment to the new business venture. Journal of Small Business Management, 48(3), 421-440.

Westhead, P., & Howorth, C. (2007). 'Types' of private family firms: An exploratory conceptual and empirical analysis. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development: An International Journal, 19(5), 405-431.

Williams, J., & Mackinnon, D. P. (2008). Resampling and distribution of the product methods for testing indirect effects in complex models. Structural Equation Modeling, 15(1), 23-51.

Wise, S. (2014). Can a team have too much cohesion? the dark side of network density. European Management Journal, 32(5), 703-711.

Yan, Z., Wang, X., & Su, C. (2006). A review of research methodologies in international business. International Business Review, 15(6), 601-617.

Yildirim-Öktem, Ö., & Üsdiken, B. (2010). Contingencies versus external pressure: Professionalization in boards of frms affiliated to family business groups in late-industrializing countries. British Journal of Management, 21(1), 115-130.

Zahra, S. A., Hayton, J. C., & Salvato, C. (2004). Entrepreneurship in family vs. non-family firms: A resource-based analysis of the effect of organizational culture. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 28(4), 363-381.

Zwick, G. A., & Jurinski, J. J. (1999). Tax and financial planning for the closey held family businesses. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Downloads

Published

2020-12-10

How to Cite

Mejia-Morelos, J. H., Cisneros-Martinez, L. F., Keen, C., & Sanchez-Famoso, V. (2020). Relational Antecedents of Innovation in Family Firms: The Complexity Role of Non-Family Employees’ Commitment. European Journal of Family Business, 10(2), 24–42. https://doi.org/10.24310/ejfbejfb.v10i2.10006

Issue

Section

Research article

Similar Articles

1 2 3 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.