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Purpose -The aim of the present study is to test the main differences between private small/medium-sized family businesses and non-family businesses with regard to management variables such as: strategy, strategic planning, manager's training and professionalism and financial techniques implementation. Design/methodology/approach -In this empirical research, we use a sample of 639 small and medium-sized industrial firms, distributed in 456 family and 183 non-family firms, with the intention of determining whether family SMEs possess specific structural characteristics distinct from non-family ones. The data collection technique used was a questionnaire obtained from a postal survey, and addressed to the manager of the company. Findings -Results show that managers of family firms use some management tools such as management accounting systems and cash budgets for the decision making process and also give less importance to strategic planning and personnel training programmes as a competitiveness factor. Research limitations/implications -There is a need for additional research because the findings indicate that there are different managerial behaviours between family and non-family firms, but we need to corroborate and look for the basis of such differences, in order to address what the advantages and disadvantages of family firms are. Practical implications -The results lead us to support the need for family firms to focus on "management development", which should be understood as the general enhancement and growth of management skills through a learning process. Originality/value -The paper contributes with new empirical evidence about the management function in family businesses. It is also expected that the results of the study help policy makers to make further efforts facilitating the progress of family firms, knowing they are the real engine driving and contributing to welfare of developed economies.

We examine the effect of professional management on innovation in family‐owned firms. Since professionalism is a critical but controversial issue that can influence the innovative capacity of family businesses, we aim to determine if professional management improves innovation outcomes from a comprehensive perspective. Using a sample of 583 Spanish family firms, we demonstrate that professionalism in management exerts a positive influence on innovation from both technological (product and process innovation) and management perspectives. We also find that firms managed by external professionals are willing to develop higher innovative activity and that professionalism contributes positively to persistent innovation. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This study analyses how the implementation of accounting and financial information and management control systems affect the performance of family and non-family micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the hospitality sector in Quintana Roo State (Mexico). The authors carried out a cross-sectional study with a sample of 122 family and non-family tourism MSMEs (composed of 72 family and 50 non-family firms). A survey was used to collect the data. The results show that managers of family firms in the hospitality sector use less accounting and financial information in their decisions than those of non-family firms. The findings also imply that hospitality family firms maintain less formalized management control systems than non-family firms in terms of the timeliness, aggregation and integration of economic and financial information in the decision-making process.