Intermediate imports and innovation performance: do family firms benefit more?
European Journal of Innovation Management
ISSN: 1460-1060
Article publication date: 14 November 2019
Issue publication date: 7 September 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of imported intermediate inputs on innovation performance, differentiating among types of innovation output (product and process innovation) and considering both family and non-family firms in the Spanish context.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses an unbalanced panel of 1963 firms in the Spanish manufacturing sector (13,155 observations; 2006–2016) that can be identified as family or non-family firms. The authors apply a recently developed methodology (conditional mixed process model) that takes into account the possible relationships among the dependent variables to a panel bivariate probit model with robust standard errors.
Findings
Importing intermediate inputs is an important source of process innovation for all firms, but not of product innovations. Significant differences were found between family and non-family firms in favor of the family type.
Research limitations/implications
This paper breaks down the family state into two categories (belonging to a family group or not) because the database does not contain information regarding the percentage of family ownership or the number of family members in the management structure. Moreover, the research is context specific.
Practical implications
These results will be useful for firms that are considering the value of importing intermediate inputs as a strategy to improve their process innovations, particularly for family firms.
Social implications
Family firms are more successful in the utilization of imported intermediate inputs to achieve greater innovation performance. If family firms are more competent in leveraging their intermediate input imports in innovation performance, it should contribute to increasing business performance.
Originality/value
The research on imports takes into account the different impacts of intermediate imports depending on innovation performance (product innovation vs process innovation) and the nature of the firm (family firms vs non-family firms).
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank two anonymous reviewers and the editor for their helpful suggestions and comments. All remaining shortcomings are our sole responsibility.
The authors are also grateful for the financial support provided by the Cátedra de Empresa Familiar from the University of Zaragoza, project grant ECO2016-77-P (AEI/FEDER, UE); and the COMPETE research group (S52_17R; Government of Aragon – Spain – and FEDER 2014-2020 “Construyendo Europa desde Aragón”).
Citation
Ramírez-Alesón, M. and Fernández-Olmos, M. (2020), "Intermediate imports and innovation performance: do family firms benefit more?", European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 23 No. 5, pp. 835-855. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-05-2019-0116
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited