Theoretical assumptions about family firm radical innovation

A growing body of research is concerned with radical innovation activities among family firms. During the last decade, the study of family firms and radical innovation has diffused into various research streams driven primarily by aspects of governance. The aim of this paper is to reconcile our understanding of current research findings about radical innovation and family firms by employing a structured literature review technique. After analyzing 39 articles from a cluster of top-ranked journals, we see that investigation of radical innovation and family firms are mainly located under the theoretical lenses of (1) resources, (2) agency theory, (3) behavioral agency theory and socioemotional wealth, and (4) drivers of the ability and willingness to innovate. By viewing radical innovation through these four lenses, we observe that radical innovation activities could be influenced by the level of family involvement in ownership and management, the family capability bundle (resources, knowledge, and experience), and family oriented goals. These matters are potentially inter-related because differences in ways family firms acquire resources, their susceptibility to various institutional factors, levels of ownership and control, and the presence of different family-oriented goals can alter the intentions, motivations, and ability to engage in radical innovation. We present urgent directions for future research, highlighting what key problems and gaps need urgent attention to advance our understanding of radical innovation in family firms

Theoretical assumptions about family firm radical innovation

Investigations of family firm radical innovation have diffused into various research streams driven primarily by governance. This has created a wide range of findings originating from a different set of theoretical assumptions whose implications for the accumulation of knowledge are unclear. This paper evaluates our understanding of family firm radical innovation using a structured literature review. Analysis of 41 seminal articles identifies four persistent theoretical lenses: (1) resources, (2) agency, (3) behavioural agency and socioemotional wealth, and (4) the ability and willingness to innovate. We present key problems needing urgent attention to advance our understanding of family firm radical innovation

Family Owners’ Fear of Loss Emotions on Socio-Emotional Dimensions and their Effects on Firm Innovativeness

By integrating literature on behavioral agency theory and fear as an emotional lens, we develop a theoretical framework explaining how family owners’ fear of losing specific dimensions of socio-emotional endowments influence family firm innovativeness. Our analysis of data from a two-phased, multi-respondent, matched survey (n = 407) at two different time points from family SMEs (n = 207) in manufacturing industries in Chongqing, China, shows that socio-emotional preferences, and the fear attached to losing specific endowments, activate or constrain innovativeness. Family owners’ fear of losing family control and influence increases firm innovativeness, as do family owners’ fear of losing guanxi (social bonds). However, family owners’ fear of losing identification with the business among family members decreases firm innovativeness, as do family owners’ fear of being unable to renew family bonds. By deepening current understanding of the role and functioning of emotions held about specific socio-emotional dimensions as determinants of firm innovativeness, our findings offer important implications for theory and practice, correcting for the inattention to sentiments and emotional preferences family owners may or may not have towards specific socio-emotional dimensions in their strategic choices

From green HRM to SDG success: Pathways through exploratory innovation and developmental culture

Green Human Resource Management (HRM) calls for integrating environmental considerations into HRM practices, shaping firms’ environmental awareness and efforts toward sustainability. The United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasize the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability and have become the primary focal point for channeling businesses’ efforts to resolve environment- and sustainability-based grand challenges. Despite the recognized importance of green HRM, existing studies inadequately explore its impact on SDG performance (specifically SDGs 8 and 12 centered on social innovation and eco-innovation dimensions) among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), whose activities are constrained by resource scarcity. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV), this study evaluates data from 1573 managers and 433 human resource managers of 433 SME manufacturing firms and confirms that green HRM positively affects SDG performance. In this relationship, green exploratory innovation and a developmental culture enhance these outcomes of green HRM practices. Study findings extend the RBV by positioning green HRM as a strategic resource driving sustainable outcomes and revealing its role in achieving environmental sustainability

When is R&D Beneficial for Family Firms? The Concurrent Roles of CSR and Economic Conditions

How family firms innovate has captivated scholars for over a decade. However, an investigation into the benefits of research and development (R&D) for family firm value under differing economic conditions has received little attention in the family firm innovation or R&D literature. This study examines the relationship between R&D intensity and firm value among listed family firms during the economic recession period of 2007–2010 and non-recessionary periods (referred to as normal periods) in the US between 1995 and 2013. Based on behavioral agency theory, we evaluate the moderating effects of investments in inward-looking and outward-looking corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on this relationship. We hypothesize that R&D intensity is negatively related to family firm value during a recession period, but outward-looking CSR positively moderates the relationship between the two. The opposite is hypothesized during normal periods. The results support the assertions that outward-looking CSR can ease the negative impact brought about by R&D intensity on firm value during a recession period, while inward-looking CSR investments surprisingly bear no effects. Important implications for research, family firm leaders, and R&D managers are discussed

Boundary pushing innovative business models and entrepreneurial small businesses

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Paradoxical leadership on firm performance: What role can guanxi HRD practices play?

Research shows that paradoxical leadership has a strong positive but inconsistent relationship with firm performance. Drawing on leadership contingency theory, we provide a theoretical model explaining how business unit level (BU-level) paradoxical leadership positively impacts BU-level performance mediated by BU-level corporate entrepreneurship (CE). However, we also show that this relationship can turn negative when the degree of firm-level Guanxi on human resource development (Guanxi HRD) practices is high. By relying on the responses from 276 BUs and performance archival data from the Taiwan Economic Journal database, we found that BU-level CE mediates the relationship between BU-level paradoxical leadership and BU-level performance. Firm-level Guanxi HRD practices diminish this effect and turn the positive relationship between BU-level paradoxical leadership and BU-level performance through BU-level CE negative. Our study reveals the dark side of firm-level Guanxi HRD practices and provides new theoretical and empirical insights that reconcile the relationship between paradoxical leadership and firm performance

Single-Ion-Magnet Behavior in a Two-Dimensional Coordination Polymer Constructed from Co^II Nodes and a Pyridylhydrazone Derivative

A novel two-dimensional (2D) coordination polymer, [Co­(ppad)₂]_<i>n</i> (<b>1</b>), resulted from the assembly of Co^II ions based on a versatile ligand termed <i>N</i>³-(3-pyridoyl)-3-pyridinecarboxamidrazone. Alternating/direct-current magnetic studies of compound <b>1</b> indicate that the spatially separated high-spin Co^II ions act as single-ion magnets (SIMs). The present work represents the first case of a 2D Co^II-based SIM composed of a monocomponent organic spacer

Data_Sheet_1_Genome-wide identification and adaptive evolution of CesA/Csl superfamily among species with different life forms in Orchidaceae.pdf

Orchidaceae, with more than 25,000 species, is one of the largest flowering plant families that can successfully colonize wide ecological niches, such as land, trees, or rocks, and its members are divided into epiphytic, terrestrial, and saprophytic types according to their life forms. Cellulose synthase (CesA) and cellulose synthase-like (Csl) genes are key regulators in the synthesis of plant cell wall polysaccharides, which play an important role in the adaptation of orchids to resist abiotic stresses, such as drought and cold. In this study, nine whole-genome sequenced orchid species with three types of life forms were selected; the CesA/Csl gene family was identified; the evolutionary roles and expression patterns of CesA/Csl genes adapted to different life forms and abiotic stresses were investigated. The CesA/Csl genes of nine orchid species were divided into eight subfamilies: CesA and CslA/B/C/D/E/G/H, among which the CslD subfamily had the highest number of genes, followed by CesA, whereas CslB subfamily had the least number of genes. Expansion of the CesA/Csl gene family in orchids mainly occurred in the CslD and CslF subfamilies. Conserved domain analysis revealed that eight subfamilies were conserved with variations in orchids. In total, 17 pairs of CesA/Csl homologous genes underwent positive selection, of which 86%, 14%, and none belonged to the epiphytic, terrestrial, and saprophytic orchids, respectively. The inter-species collinearity analysis showed that the CslD genes expanded in epiphytic orchids. Compared with terrestrial and saprophytic orchids, epiphytic orchids experienced greater strength of positive selection, with expansion events mostly related to the CslD subfamily, which might have resulted in strong adaptability to stress in epiphytes. Experiments on stem expression changes under abiotic stress showed that the CslA might be a key subfamily in response to drought stress for orchids with different life forms, whereas the CslD might be a key subfamily in epiphytic and saprophytic orchids to adapt to freezing stress. This study provides the basic knowledge for the further systematic study of the adaptive evolution of the CesA/Csl superfamily in angiosperms with different life forms, and research on orchid-specific functional genes related to life-history trait evolution.</p