IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jmgtgv/v27y2023i1d10.1007_s10997-021-09599-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why and when do family firms invest less in talent management? The suppressor effect of risk aversion

Author

Listed:
  • Rodrigo Basco

    (American University of Sharjah)

  • Thomas Bassetti

    (University of Padua)

  • Lorenzo Dal Maso

    (Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna)

  • Nicola Lattanzi

    (IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca)

Abstract

This article explores the complex relationship between family firms and talent management practices. We use an international sample of medium-sized manufacturing firms to show that the relationship between family-owned firms and investment in talent management practices is mediated by the firm's level of risk aversion, which is, in turn, moderated by industry competition. Risk-averse family-owned firms tend to invest less in talent management practices when industry competition is weak. In contrast, when competition increases, family-owned firms tend to invest in talent as much as non-family-owned firms do.

Suggested Citation

  • Rodrigo Basco & Thomas Bassetti & Lorenzo Dal Maso & Nicola Lattanzi, 2023. "Why and when do family firms invest less in talent management? The suppressor effect of risk aversion," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(1), pages 101-130, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jmgtgv:v:27:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10997-021-09599-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10997-021-09599-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10997-021-09599-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10997-021-09599-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Minetti, Raoul & Murro, Pierluigi & Paiella, Monica, 2015. "Ownership structure, governance, and innovation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 165-193.
    2. Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1975. "The Theory of "Screening," Education, and the Distribution of Income," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 65(3), pages 283-300, June.
    3. Pieper, Torsten M., 2010. "Non solus: Toward a psychology of family business," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 26-39, March.
    4. Oriana Bandiera & Luigi Guiso & Andrea Prat & Raffaella Sadun, 2015. "Matching Firms, Managers, and Incentives," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(3), pages 623-681.
    5. Schuler, Randall S. & Jackson, Susan E. & Tarique, Ibraiz, 2011. "Global talent management and global talent challenges: Strategic opportunities for IHRM," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 506-516, October.
    6. Nicholas Bloom & John Van Reenen, 2007. "Measuring and Explaining Management Practices Across Firms and Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(4), pages 1351-1408.
    7. Tatoglu, Ekrem & Glaister, Alison J. & Demirbag, Mehmet, 2016. "Talent management motives and practices in an emerging market: A comparison between MNEs and local firms," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 278-293.
    8. Thaler, Richard H & Shefrin, H M, 1981. "An Economic Theory of Self-Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(2), pages 392-406, April.
    9. Nicholas Bloom & Renata Lemos & Raffaella Sadun & Daniela Scur & John Van Reenen, 2014. "The New Empirical Economics of Management," NBER Working Papers 20102, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Baù, Massimo & Pittino, Daniel & Sieger, Philipp & Eddleston, Kimberly A., 2020. "Careers in family business: New avenues for careers and family business research in the 21st century," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(3).
    11. Hongbin Cai & Hongbin Li & Albert Park & Li-An Zhou, 2013. "Family Ties and Organizational Design: Evidence from Chinese Private Firms," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(3), pages 850-867, July.
    12. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    13. Penno, M, 1984. "Asymmetry Of Pre-Decision Information And Managerial Accounting," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 177-191.
    14. Randall Morck & Bernard Yeung, 2003. "Agency Problems in Large Family Business Groups," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 27(4), pages 367-382, October.
    15. Francesco Lippi & Fabiano Schivardi, 2014. "Corporate control and executive selection," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 5, pages 417-456, July.
    16. Basco, Rodrigo, 2015. "Family business and regional development—A theoretical model of regional familiness," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 259-271.
    17. Nicholas Bloom & Renata Lemos & Raffaella Sadun & Daniela Scur & John Reenen, 2014. "Jeea-Fbbva Lecture 2013: The New Empirical Economics Of Management," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 835-876, August.
    18. Timothy B. Palmer & Robert M. Wiseman, 1999. "Decoupling risk taking from income stream uncertainty: a holistic model of risk," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(11), pages 1037-1062, November.
    19. Marianne Bertrand & Antoinette Schoar, 2006. "The Role of Family in Family Firms," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 73-96, Spring.
    20. Block, Joern H., 2012. "R&D investments in family and founder firms: An agency perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 248-265.
    21. Basco, Rodrigo & Pérez Rodríguez, María José, 2011. "Ideal types of family business management: Horizontal fit between family and business decisions and the relationship with family business performance," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 151-165.
    22. Lorenzo Dal Maso & Rodrigo Basco & Thomas Bassetti & Nicola Lattanzi, 2020. "Family ownership and environmental performance: The mediation effect of human resource practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1548-1562, March.
    23. William S. Schulze & Michael H. Lubatkin & Richard N. Dino & Ann K. Buchholtz, 2001. "Agency Relationships in Family Firms: Theory and Evidence," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(2), pages 99-116, April.
    24. Aparicio, Gloria & Basco, Rodrigo & Iturralde, Txomin & Maseda, Amaia, 2017. "An exploratory study of firm goals in the context of family firms: An institutional logics perspective," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 157-169.
    25. Bernheim, B Douglas & Stark, Oded, 1988. "Altruism within the Family Reconsidered: Do Nice Guys Finish Last?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 1034-1045, December.
    26. Davide Rizzotti & Claudia Frisenna & Roberta Mazzone, 2017. "The impact of family owners’ monitoring on CEO turnover decisions and the role of trust," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(3), pages 599-621, September.
    27. Kaouthar Lajili, 2015. "Embedding human capital into governance design: a conceptual framework," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 19(4), pages 741-762, November.
    28. Pu Chen & Sanxi Li & Bing Ye, 2018. "Risk†Sharing Matching And Moral Hazard," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(2), pages 165-174, April.
    29. Steven Shavell, 1979. "Risk Sharing and Incentives in the Principal and Agent Relationship," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 55-73, Spring.
    30. Michael Lubatkin & William S. Schulze & Richard N. Dino, 2002. "Altruism, Agency and the Competitiveness of Family Firms," Post-Print hal-02311705, HAL.
    31. Peter Wright & Mark Kroll & Jeffrey A. Krug & Michael Pettus, 2007. "Influences of top management team incentives on firm risk taking," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 81-89, January.
    32. Cheng, Shijun, 2008. "Board size and the variability of corporate performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 157-176, January.
    33. Sobel, Joel, 1993. "Information Control in the Principal-Agent Problem," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 34(2), pages 259-269, May.
    34. Basov Suren & Yin Xiangkang, 2010. "Optimal Screening by Risk-Averse Principals," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-25, March.
    35. Andrea Calabrò & Donata Mussolino, 2013. "How do boards of directors contribute to family SME export intensity? The role of formal and informal governance mechanisms," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(2), pages 363-403, May.
    36. Suzanne Konzelmann & Neil Conway & Linda Trenberth & Frank Wilkinson, 2006. "Corporate Governance and Human Resource Management," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 44(3), pages 541-567, September.
    37. Al Ariss, Akram & Cascio, Wayne F. & Paauwe, Jaap, 2014. "Talent management: Current theories and future research directions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 173-179.
    38. Li, Kai & Griffin, Dale & Yue, Heng & Zhao, Longkai, 2013. "How does culture influence corporate risk-taking?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 1-22.
    39. Cucculelli, Marco & Micucci, Giacinto, 2008. "Family succession and firm performance: Evidence from Italian family firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 17-31, February.
    40. Robert R. Bliss & Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, 2004. "Option-Implied Risk Aversion Estimates," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(1), pages 407-446, February.
    41. Mazzi, Chiara, 2011. "Family business and financial performance: Current state of knowledge and future research challenges," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 166-181.
    42. Ceja, Lucia & Tapies, Josep, 2009. "Attracting talent to family-owned businesses: The perceptions of MBA students," IESE Research Papers D/815, IESE Business School.
    43. William S. Schulze & Michael H. Lubatkin & Richard N. Dino, 2002. "Altruism, agency, and the competitiveness of family firms," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(4-5), pages 247-259.
    44. Hannes Hauswald & Andreas Hack & Franz W. Kellermanns & Holger Patzelt, 2016. "Attracting New Talent to Family Firms: Who is Attracted and under what Conditions?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(5), pages 963-989, September.
    45. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
    46. Basco, Rodrigo, 2013. "The family's effect on family firm performance: A model testing the demographic and essence approaches," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 42-66.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lorenzo Dal Maso & Rodrigo Basco & Thomas Bassetti & Nicola Lattanzi, 2020. "Family ownership and environmental performance: The mediation effect of human resource practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1548-1562, March.
    2. Basco, Rodrigo, 2013. "The family's effect on family firm performance: A model testing the demographic and essence approaches," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 42-66.
    3. Ivan Miroshnychenko & Alfredo De Massis & Danny Miller & Roberto Barontini, 2021. "Family Business Growth Around the World," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(4), pages 682-708, July.
    4. Christopher Hansen & Joern Block & Matthias Neuenkirch, 2020. "Family Firm Performance Over The Business Cycle: A Meta‐Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 476-511, July.
    5. César Camisón-Zornoza & Beatriz Forés-Julián & Alba Puig-Denia & Sergio Camisón-Haba, 0. "Effects of ownership structure and corporate and family governance on dynamic capabilities in family firms," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-34.
    6. De Massis, Alfredo & Kotlar, Josip & Campopiano, Giovanna & Cassia, Lucio, 2013. "Dispersion of family ownership and the performance of small-to-medium size private family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 166-175.
    7. Geoffrey Martin & Luis R. Gómez–Mejía & Pascual Berrone & Marianna Makri, 2017. "Conflict between Controlling Family Owners and Minority Shareholders: Much Ado about Nothing?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(6), pages 999-1027, November.
    8. César Camisón-Zornoza & Beatriz Forés-Julián & Alba Puig-Denia & Sergio Camisón-Haba, 2020. "Effects of ownership structure and corporate and family governance on dynamic capabilities in family firms," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 1393-1426, December.
    9. Goel, Sanjay & Mazzola, Pietro & Phan, Phillip H. & Pieper, Torsten M. & Zachary, Ramona K., 2012. "Strategy, ownership, governance, and socio-psychological perspectives on family businesses from around the world," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 54-65.
    10. Block, Joern H. & Jaskiewicz, Peter & Miller, Danny, 2011. "Ownership versus management effects on performance in family and founder companies: A Bayesian reconciliation," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 2(4), pages 232-245.
    11. Uchida, Hirofumi & Yamada, Kazuo & Zazzaro, Alberto, 2023. "Management innovations in family firms after CEO successions: Evidence from Japanese SMEs," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    12. Cucculelli, Marco & Peruzzi, Valentina, 2020. "Innovation over the industry life-cycle. Does ownership matter?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    13. Richard H. Lester & Albert A. Cannella Jr., 2006. "Interorganizational Familiness: How Family Firms Use Interlocking Directorates to Build Community–Level Social Capital1," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(6), pages 755-775, November.
    14. Jenny Kragl & Alberto Palermo & Guoqian Xi & Joern Block, 2023. "Hiring family or non-family managers when non-economic (sustainability) goals matter? A multitask agency model," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 675-700, August.
    15. Guidice, Rebecca M. & Mero, Neal P. & Greene, Juanne V., 2013. "Perceptions of accountability in family business: Using accountability theory to understand differences between family and nonfamily executives," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 233-244.
    16. Erbetta, Fabrizio & Menozzi, Anna & Corbetta, Guido & Fraquelli, Giovanni, 2013. "Assessing family firm performance using frontier analysis techniques: Evidence from Italian manufacturing industries," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 106-117.
    17. López-Delgado, P. & Diéguez-Soto, J., 2015. "Lone founders, types of private family businesses and firm performance," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 73-85.
    18. Marco Cucculelli & Lidia Mannarino & Valeria Pupo & Fernanda Ricotta, 2014. "Owner‐Management, Firm Age, and Productivity in Italian Family Firms," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(2), pages 325-343, April.
    19. Cucculelli, Marco & Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle & Miller, Danny, 2016. "Product innovation, firm renewal and family governance," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 90-104.
    20. Ismael Barros-Contreras & Héctor Pérez-Fernández & Natalia Martín-Cruz & Juan Hernangómez B., 2023. "Can we make family social capital flourish? The moderating role of generational involvement," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 655-673, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jmgtgv:v:27:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10997-021-09599-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.