Family involvement and innovation

Abstract

This literature review systematizes and analyzes the results of studies on innovation in family businesses, considering the involvement of the family. Following the protocol of a systematic review of literature, relevant studies on the topic were identified and analyzed. The results show that family businesses have distinct resources and capacities that are difficult to duplicate, resulting from the interaction of the family system with the business system itself. These capabilities enable family members to interact with the business system in a quick, flexible, and unstructured way, which promotes company competition and supports innovation. This study contributes to understanding that family involvement may increase and restrict the components of the capacity for innovation and these effects may imply the competitive advantage of the family business. The effects of family involvement demonstrate the heterogeneity among family businesses and offer insight into how these companies manage and are capable of maximizing or minimizing the effects of such involvement on company innovation. At the end of this review, we present a structure of topics related to innovation based on family involvement derived from the categorization and analysis of the reviewed studies.