What Can Drive Successful Entrepreneurial Firms? An Analysis of Inc. 500 Companies

Entrepreneurship scholars tend to discuss the merits of using innovation over imitation for the creation of new ventures. We take a step forward to focus our attention on the drivers of successful entrepreneurial firms and use Inc. 500 companies to test our framework. Findings indicate that the extent of innovation positively influences long-term sales growth and the relationship is positively moderated by prior experience and negatively moderated by family involvement. Research and practical implications are discussed

Regional Economy as a Determinant of the Prevalence of Family Firms in the United States: A Preliminary Report

The formation of family firms, as well as their scale and scope, is likely to be influenced by the characteristics of the environment. This study presents preliminary findings on the relationship between economic development and the prevalence of family vs. nonfamily firms in the United States. We use three samples consisting of 15,918 firms aggregated at the state level and two methods of estimating the proportion of family businesses in each state. Our results indicate that regardless of the method of estimation, there is a negative relationship between the proportion of family firms in a state and gross state product per capita. Implications and research directions are provided

The determinants of family firms’ subcontracting: a transaction cost perspective

In this article we compare the governance choices of family and non-family firms regarding their subcontracting tendencies. Based on transaction cost theory, we argue that family firms are less likely to engage in subcontracting than non-family firms and that kinship ties, the extent to which a family firm's production activities are important, and cost minimization concerns influence the extent to which family firms utilize subcontractors. Using a sample of small, established firms, we find support for our hypotheses as well as for the use of transaction cost theory logic to explain family firm behavior

The determinants of family firms' subcontracting: A transaction cost perspective

In this article we compare the governance choices of family and non-family firms regarding their subcontracting tendencies. Based on transaction cost theory, we argue that family firms are less likely to engage in subcontracting than non-family firms and that kinship ties, the extent to which a family firm's production activities are important, and cost minimization concerns influence the extent to which family firms utilize subcontractors. Using a sample of small, established firms, we find support for our hypotheses as well as for the use of transaction cost theory logic to explain family firm behavior.Transaction cost theory Family business Subcontracting