Business process innovations in family firms: evidence from Serbia

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the innovation performance of Serbian family firms, the differences in the innovation performance between family and non-family firms as well as different family firms, and the relationship between business process innovation and customer satisfaction among family firms.Design/methodology/approachThe sample consists of 207 valid responses from young Serbian companies from various industries founded in 2015 that published their financial statements in 2017. The statistical analysis involved descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, and correlation analysis.FindingsThe study results indicate that family businesses in Serbia are innovation-oriented and that they introduced a number of innovations in business processes related to the production and distribution of goods or services and the development of products and business processes. The results also suggest that family and non-family firms are equally committed to introducing innovations in business processes. In addition, the study did not confirm significant differences in the performance of business process innovations among family firms in the manufacturing, trade, and service sectors. Finally, the results demonstrate that introducing business process innovations is positively associated with customer satisfaction and customer retention rate in Serbian family firms.Originality/valueThis paper presents the first comprehensive analysis of the innovation performance of Serbian family firms and can help policymakers assess the contribution of innovation to economic goals.

Beyond Tradition: Exploring the Dimensions of Professionalization and Competitiveness in Hungarian Family Firms

“…However, in our sample, family firms could not rely on their innovation capabilities to reach higher performance, thus leading to the conclusion that they seem only as innovative as non-family businesses, no better or less. This is similar to the findings of Paunović et al (2023) who also found that family and non-family businesses are equally committed to introducing innovations in their business processes and to Csákné Filep et al (2023) who found no difference between family and non-family firms regarding their innovation performance in their 2017 and 2022 samples.…”

“…However, in our sample, family firms could not rely on their innovation capabilities to achieve higher competitiveness, and we conclude that domestic medium-sized family firms do not outperform their non-family competitors in terms of innovation performance. Our results are similar to the findings of Paunović, Ružičić & Moravčević (2023), who also found that family and non-family firms are equally committed to introducing innovations in their business processes and to the research on a domestic sample (Németh & Dőry, 2019), where they also found no evidence of significant differences between family and non-family firms in terms of innovation orientation. The research also confirms our claim that family firms have failed to take advantage of their innovation capabilities, as there is a demonstrable link between the use of professional management tools and systems and innovation performance.…”

Eliminating Non-Value-Added Activities and Optimizing Manufacturing Processes Using Process Mining: A Stock of Challenges for Family SMEs

“…In the same context, while some research indicates that family firms are willing to execute innovation in business processes like production and distribution operations [44,45], other studies show that family firms invest less in research and development and that introducing change in processes and products is due to their flexibility [46]. Regarding the use of information technology and data organization in family SMEs, Dutot et al [47] showed that FSMEs do not have mature, adequate management and use of ICT (information and communication technology).…”

Toward effective innovation performance

“…These issues are considered further by Paunović et al (2022) in a study of family and non-family firms in Serbia, a country where businesses have been slow to exploit their scope for innovation. The need to implement innovative solution is increasing as the shift from traditional to digital business accelerates.…”