scholarly journals A Meta-Analysis About the Relationship between Family Firms and Firm Performance

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Wagner
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 971-987
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Kosmidou

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between family firm generational involvement and performance. Although researchers have studied this relationship extensively, a complete understanding of its true magnitude and sign is still lacking. Design/methodology/approach This meta-analysis sheds new light on this relationship, integrating the findings of 43 studies with 51 independent samples and 18,802 family firms. Findings The results reveal a small and negative relationship indicating that later-generation family firms perform worse compared to first-generation ones. The authors also show that the relationship is stronger for younger than older and for private than public firms. Finally, the measurements of both variables influence the relationship yielding critical research implications. Research limitations/implications This study suggests that future researchers examining the effects of generational involvement on family firm performance should conduct their analysis using multiple measures of both variables to ensure the accuracy of their results. It also highlights the need of family business scholars to converge to the use of a universal family firm definition, as findings differ significantly in strength and direction depending on which definition is used. Practical implications From a practitioners’ perspective, the findings imply that owners of young and private family firms should consider professionalizing and adopting a balanced top management team composition consisting of both family and non-family members as a way to mitigate the negative effects of “familiness” on performance. Originality/value This study empirically demonstrates the importance of adopting a generational perspective when examining differences in family firm performance.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104225872110268
Author(s):  
Todor S. Lohwasser ◽  
Felix Hoch ◽  
Franz W. Kellermanns

This meta-analysis of 142 studies from 36 countries examines how the institutional environment moderates the relationship between family involvement and firm performance. Specifically, we investigate performance differences between family and nonfamily firms while using property rights protection, institutional stability, and a country’s regime type as moderators. Our analysis shows that institutional stability serves as a decisive moderator of the relationship between family involvement and firm performance and that family firms outperform nonfamily firms in democracies and autocracies but not in anocracies. Based on these findings, we provide and discuss both practical recommendations for family firms and theoretical implications for institutional theory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mazen Gharsalli

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between leverage and firm performance using small business data from France by estimating the effects of leverage on both average firm performance and the variance of firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Focusing on French small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which tend to be dependent on bank loans, the authors examine the relationship between leverage and firm performance. This study was based on a unique panel data set of more than 2,157 manufacturing SMEs covering the years 2007-2015. The authors estimate the effects of leverage on both average firm performance and the variance of firm performance. Findings Focusing on the average effects of leverage, the authors find that highly leveraged firms suffer from poor performance. In addition, the variance in firm performance is higher if firms are highly leveraged. Results also underline that leveraged firms are better performers when they have sufficient collateral assets. Research limitations/implications The study, however, has also some limitations. The first one is that the findings were obtained for only one industry sector, so attempts should be made to study the issue, as it applies to other sectors as well. Second is the context where the study was conducted. This study has been conducted based on data gathered from SMEs in France within a specific socioeconomic context (2007-2008 global financial crisis), which may also limit the generalizability of the results for different contexts with different socioeconomic situations. It would also be useful, to have a better explanation for the performance of SMEs, to add to the model more financial variables or other types of variables such as those related to managerial skills or to the macro-economic environment. Finally, further research could examine the joint impact of both leverage and ownership structure on firm’s performance as a large number of French firms are family firms. The limitations of this study, however, can in fact be an opportunity for future researchers to conduct studies addressing those limitations. Practical implications This research has some implications for small business lending. SME owners and managers may, on the one hand, be encouraged by the fact that collateral assets can reduce agency costs, thereby positively affecting firm performance. On the other hand, high leverage can facilitate firm growth if firms have collateral assets. This implies that policymakers interested in stimulating SMEs should develop more suitable collaterals for high-risk SMEs with low asset tangibility. Social implications The results also have implications for financial institutions. To prevent unexpected and extensive bankruptcies, banks might classify firms with negative cash flows as borrower in danger of bankruptcy. However, the results show that highly leveraged firms with good investment opportunities and high collateral assets reduce the probability of bankruptcy. This implies that banks need to evaluate the credit risk of very highly leveraged small businesses more carefully. Originality/value It should be noted that the case of France remains marginal in terms of the conducted studies.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Changli Feng ◽  
Ruize Ma ◽  
Lin Jiang

PurposeWith the rise of service economy, many companies are attempting to gain a competitive advantage through service innovation. However, the existing research has not drawn consistent conclusions about the relationship between service innovation and firm performance. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to provide a quantitative review on the service innovation-performance relationship based on research findings reported in the extant literature.Design/methodology/approachStudies from 46 peer-reviewed articles were sampled and analyzed. A meta-analytic approach was adopted to conduct a quantitative review on the relationship between service innovation and firm performance, and the effects of any potential moderators were further explored.FindingsThe results found that service innovation has a significant positive impact on firm performance. Additionally, the relationship between service innovation and firm performance is influenced by measurement moderators (economic region and performance measurement), and contextual moderators (firm type, innovation type, customer factors and attitudes toward risk).Originality/valueThe meta-analysis has been used to explore the relationship between service innovation and firm performance, and the findings have contributed to the literature on service innovation, as well as providing future research directions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (03) ◽  
pp. 1440008 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER SMITH ◽  
LISA CALLAGHER ◽  
XINLEI HUANG

We test the relationship between alliance scope and firm performance in the context of the biotechnology industry by means of a meta-analysis. Meta-analysis is a statistical technique that allows a systematic review of the existing research that is more rigorously systematic compared to conventional narrative reviews as it uses statistics to capture the strength of relationships. The analysis confirms that a relationship between alliance scope and firm performance does exist. Furthermore, results suggest that there is a statistically significant difference in firm performance between exploitation alliances and exploration alliances, confirming recent studies in the innovation and R&D management literature. Managerial implications and future research suggestions are provided.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Imtiaz Mostafiz ◽  
Mathew Hughes ◽  
Murali Sambasivan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to test the thesis that the family firm’s success hinges on effective strategic knowledge management (SKM) capability coupled with an entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Contingency theory holds that entrepreneurial success is contingent on strategic capabilities and resource orchestration theory explains how well family firms nurture capabilities to structure, bundle and leverage resources that define competitive advantage (CA). This study combines these two theoretical viewpoints to propose the effects of EO and SKM capability on CA to achieve successful performance in family firms. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a hybrid approach applying structural equation modelling (SEM) and deep-learning artificial intelligence (DL-AI) analysis to survey data on 268 Malaysian family firms. Findings SEM results confirm that CA mediates the relationship between innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking dimensions of EO and firm performance. Autonomy and competitive aggressiveness have no bearing, however. The relationships among innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking with CA and performance are positively moderated by SKM capability, becoming more potent at higher levels. Moreover, four additional DL-AI models reveal the necessity of specific EO dimensions and the interacting effects of EO–SKM capability to influence CA and to attain performance success subsequently. Originality/value This study theorizes and presents two new boundary conditions to a knowledge-based theory of the family firm and its firm performance. First, CA mediates the relationship between EO and performance; and second, SKM capability moderates the relationships between EO and CA and between EO and family firm performance. Methodologically, this study uses DL-AI to embrace non-linearity and prioritize predictor variables based on normalized importance to produce greater accuracy over regression analysis. Hence, DL-AI adds methodological novelty to the knowledge management and family firm literature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávia Schwartz Maranho ◽  
Ricardo Leal

Purpose The relationship between the role played by corporate governance (CG) mechanisms and shareholder wealth is an important and mature topic in some countries and regions. However, despite the considerable number of studies, the results are still inconclusive. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate around the theme in Latin America through a meta-analysis. Design/methodology/approach The study used meta-analytic procedures to review 42 articles produced by researchers from Latin American countries, whose samples were composed of Latin American firms. Findings The results suggest that CG best practices are associated with better Latin American firm performance. The evidence also suggests that results are moderated by the characteristics of boards of directors, the ownership, and control structure and various simultaneous CG mechanisms, through broad indices and special CG trading segments. Originality/Value The relationship between GC and firm performance possesses certain peculiarities in the case of Latin American countries and the literature on the region is certainly not as abundant and mature. As most of the articles reviewed were written in Portuguese and Spanish and published in local journals, the consolidation produced should also be useful for researchers throughout the world by enabling them to access their ideas.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1201-1216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Chaudhary ◽  
Safal Batra

Purpose Despite the recognized importance of knowledge management for small family firms, relatively little empirical research has been done so far to understand the mechanisms through which absorptive capacity (AC) assists their performance. The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between absorptive capacity and performance in small family firms. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors theoretically argue and empirically validate that AC enables the creation of entrepreneurial, market and technology orientations in small family firms, which, in turn, lead to superior firm performance. They also tested the study’s hypotheses using mediation and multiple linear regression analyses on data collected from 272 small Indian family firms. Findings The study’s findings suggest indirect relationship between AC and performance. The strategic orientations provide a mechanism through which investments in small family firms’ AC results in firm performance. Practical implications This study offers crucial insights to practitioners and small firm managers regarding the use of knowledge-based capabilities in creating appropriate strategic postures, which, in turn, assist firm performance. Originality/value This study is among few research attempts in understanding the knowledge aspects of small family firms. The present research contributes to the existing literature by unravelling the relationship between knowledge management and small family firm performance. Also, by bringing in data from an under-studied context of an emerging economy, this study strengthens the theoretical applicability of knowledge management in different contexts.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vas Taras ◽  
Esra Memili ◽  
Zhonghui Wang ◽  
Henrik Harms

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effects of family involvement in corporations on firm performance. It remains unclear whether family-owned companies, or companies with other forms of family involvement in the corporate governance, perform better than firms with no family involvement. Furthermore, the study focuses on family involvement in publicly traded firms, which are different from private family firms. Hence, knowledge about family firms will be enriched through a closer look at the publicly traded family firms and shed further light onto the heterogeneity among family firms. Design/methodology/approach The present study uses a meta-analysis of the extant research on family involvement and publicly traded family firm performance. The authors synthesize past research, identify and reconcile mixed findings and expand the understanding of the phenomenon. Findings Involvement of the founding family members in firm governance tends to improve firm performance, albeit the effect is rather weak. However, the effect varies greatly depending on the type of family involvement and the measure of performance. The authors also identify regional differences, as well as variations by the firm size and study design. Furthermore, under-researched areas are identified for future research. Practical implications The results of the study would be useful in guiding organizational design and investment decisions. Originality/value By using the meta-analytic approach, the present study provides a comprehensive review of the empirical evidence available on the issue so far. Most importantly, the authors were able to conduct a series of tests to assess the moderating effects of a number of factors that could not be evaluated in any individual study in the meta-analytic database.


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