Individual innovation behavior and firm-level exploration and exploitation : How family firms make the most of their managers

Strobl, Andreas and Matzler, Kurt and Nketia, Bright Adu and Veider, Viktoria (2020) Individual innovation behavior and firm-level exploration and exploitation : How family firms make the most of their managers. Review of Managerial Science, 14 (4). pp. 809-844. ISSN 1863-6691

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of top managers’ individual innovation behavior on firm-level innovation activities, specifically on exploration and exploitation. The influence of individual actions depends on managerial discretion, which is dependent on the ownership context of a business. Thus, this study explores how family ownership moderates the relationships between a top manager’s individual innovation behavior and firm-level exploration and exploitation. Based on a sample of 195 firms, of which 120 are family firms, our findings depict highly significant relationships between managers’ individual innovation behavior and firm-level exploration and exploitation innovation. Furthermore, we find differences regarding these relationships between family firms and their non-family counterparts. We contribute to literature showing that family firms provide a unique context for leveraging a top manager’s individual innovation behavior into firm-level exploration activities.