Technological, management, and persistent innovation in small and medium family firms: The influence of professionalism

• Author: Antonio Duréndez,Domingo García‐Pérez‐de‐Lema,Julio Diéguez‐Soto,Daniel Ruiz‐Palomo
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1404
• Published date: 01 December 2016
• Date: 01 December 2016

Technological, management, and persistent

innovation in small and medium family firms: The

influence of professionalism

Julio Diéguez-Soto*

University of Málaga

Antonio Duréndez

Technical University of Cartagena

Domingo García-Pérez-de-Lema

Technical University of Cartagena

Daniel Ruiz-Palomo

University of Málaga

Abstract

We examine the effect of professional management on inno-

vation in family-owned f‌irms. Since professionalism is a crit-

ical but controversial issue that can inf‌luence the innovative

capacity of family businesses, we aim to determine if profes-

sional management improves innovation outcomes from a

comprehensive perspective. Using a sample of 583 Spanish

family f‌irms, we demonstrate that professionalism in man-

agement exerts a positive inf‌luence on innovation from both

technological (product and process innovation) and man-

agement perspectives. We also f‌ind that f‌irms managed by

external professionals are willing to develop higher innova-

tive activity and that professionalism contributes positively

to persistent innovation. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Pub-

lished by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: technological innovation, management innova-

tion, persistent innovation, professionalism, family f‌irm

Résumé

Dans cet article, nous examinons l’impact de la gestion

professionnelle sur l’innovation au sein des entreprises

familiales. Le professionnalisme étant un concept crucial

mais controversé, susceptible d’inf‌luencer la capacité

innovatrice des entreprises familiales, notre objectif est de

déterminer si, de façon globale, la gestion professionnelle

améliore les résultats de l’innovation. À partir d’un

échantillon de 583 entreprises familiales espagnoles, nous

montrons que le professionnalisme en gestion exerce une in-

f‌luence positive sur l’innovation que ce soit sur le plan

technologique (produits et processus) ou sur le plan de la

gestion. Notre étude révèle aussi, d’une part, que les

entreprises gérées par des professionnels externes sont plus

enclines à élaborer des activités d’innovation et, d’autre

part, que le professionnalisme contribue positivement à

l’innovation persistante. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Pub-

lished by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mots-clés : innovation technologique, innovation en

gestion, innovation persistante, professionnalisme,

entreprise familiale

The relationship between innovation and professional-

ism is a critical but controversial issue that can affect the

innovative capacity of family businesses (Stewart & Hitt,

2012). Professionalism increases boundary-spanning activ-

ity, self-conf‌idence, and a commitment to move beyond

the status quo (Pierce & Delbecq, 1977), and innovation is

an essential source of superior competitiveness (Dess &

Picken, 2000). The complexity and dynamism of the current

corporate environment requires an in-depth knowledge of

both key factors that become essential in reaching

Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge funding from the Spanish Ministry of Scienceand Innovation(ECO 2011-29080: The innovation of SMEs in Spain:

performance, f‌inance, business cycle and regional growth). This research also benef‌ited from comments and suggestions by participants and reviewers of the IFERA

(International Family Business Research Academy), Lappeeranta 2014 annual congress, as well as research seminarsat the Technical University of Cartagena and

University of Málaga. All remaining errors are the authors’own.

*Please address correspondence to: Dr. Julio Diéguez-Soto, Associate Professor, Department of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Business Ad-

ministration, University of Málaga, Campus de El Ejido, 6, 29071 Málaga (Spain). Email: jdieguez@uma.es

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences

Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration

33: 332–346 (2016)

Published online 28 October 2016 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/CJAS.1404

Can J Adm Sci

33(4), 332–346 (2016)Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 332