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The New Lyrics of the Old Folks: The Role of Family Ownership in Corporate Innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Massa, Massimo
  • Huang, Sterling
  • Hsu, Po-Hsuan

Abstract

According to conventional wisdom, family ownership, which signals a lack of social capital and trust in an economy, may impede innovation. This argument, however, fails to recognize that modern family firms can benefit from capitalist institutions that promote innovation. Using a comprehensive sample of U.S. family-owned public firms and patents for the period from 1998 to 2010, we show that family ownership plays multiple roles in promoting innovation and its influence can be attributed to reduced financial constraints, a greater commitment to long-term value, and improved corporate governance. Causality is confirmed through an instrumental variable analysis, a difference-in-difference analysis based on an exogenous regulatory shock and a matched sample analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Massa, Massimo & Huang, Sterling & Hsu, Po-Hsuan, 2015. "The New Lyrics of the Old Folks: The Role of Family Ownership in Corporate Innovation," CEPR Discussion Papers 10445, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10445
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chih-Yang Tseng, 2020. "Family firms and long-term orientation of SG&A expenditures," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 1181-1206, November.
    2. Bena, Jan & Ferreira, Miguel A & Matos, Pedro & Pires, Pedro, 2017. "Are foreign investors locusts? The long-term effects of foreign institutional ownership," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 122-146.
    3. Chi, Yung-Ling, 2022. "Owners’ portfolio diversification and internal capital allocation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    4. Chang, Hsiu-yun & Liang, Woan-lih & Wang, Yanzhi, 2019. "Do institutional investors still encourage patent-based innovation after the tech bubble period?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 149-164.
    5. Chi, Yung-Ling, 2023. "The agency costs of family ownership: Evidence from innovation performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    6. Erin H. Kao & Ho-Chuan Huang & Hung-Gay Fung & Xiaojian Liu, 2020. "Co-opted directors, gender diversity, and crash risk: evidence from China," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 461-500, August.
    7. Gianpaolo Parise & Fabrizio Leone, 2018. "Family first? Nepotism and corporate investment," BIS Working Papers 693, Bank for International Settlements.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Family firms; Innovation; Intangible investment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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