Traditional Governance and Innovative Strategies in Italian Family SMEs: Evidence from Tuscany

Abstract

Governance in family businesses is a relatively recent research topic in the field of management studies. Much research has sought to shed light on the factors that shape the relationship between governance structures and corporate strategies. Nevertheless, very little research has specifically addressed the relationships between the configuration of the Board of Directors and the firm's willingness to carry out innovative strategies. Our study aims to shed light on the relationship between the corporate governance structures and the pace of innovation within family SMEs. Evidence from three family-owned SMEs located in Tuscany (Italy) highlights that a traditional type of governance structure can co-exist with the search for innovative strategies and that the intensity of the innovation processes may not be tied to the Board's composition.

The Impacts of Traditional Culture on Small Industries Longevity and Sustainability: A Case on Sundanese in Indonesia

“…This study found similarities across Sundanese small industries such that, in general, they could survive across generations because the strength of traditional Sundanese cultural traditions is translated through the intrinsic values of entrepreneurs into their business activities. In addition, there are several other important factors that determine longevity [11][12][13]. In the Sundanese ethnicity, the tradition of high long-term orientation, highcollectivism, low power distance, and high indulgence positively contribute to the longevity of small industry in Indonesia.…”

“…Success stories of businesses in other countries surviving across generations because of the strength of their traditions were also reported in previous studies. For example, the strength of tradition and innovation are survival strategies for family businesses in Japan [11], local traditions and succession planning are the key to the survival of small businesses in Italy [12], and some Chinese culture and traditions, such as guanxi, play an important role in entrepreneurship [13]. Cultural traditions play a role in supporting business innovation in Thailand [14].…”

Introduction to the Research Handbook on Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Family Firms

“…These peculiarities of family business innovation and entrepreneurship create further paradoxical tensions (Erdogan et al, 2019). On the one hand, continuous renewal and entrepreneurship are cornerstones of sustainable competitiveness (Kallmuenzer and Scholl-Grissemann, 2017;Nikolakis et al, 2022); on the other hand, tradition (Bonti and Cori, 2018) creates a tendency to conserve the status quo.…”

Family firms' longevity: Evidence from the Italian experience

“…The survival of the family business, and therefore its longevity over time, is, therefore, the result of a subtle exercise of balancing innovation and tradition (Bonti and Cori, 2013).…”

“…Several prior studies have addressed this topic, highlighting a number of factors which explain family business longevity, specifically highlighting the importance of balancing innovation and tradition (Corbetta and Salvato, 2012;Bonti and Cori, 2013). Overall, available studies have mainly focused on the endogenous dynamics of family businesses as drivers of longevity while effectively neglecting consideration of exogenous dynamics (Fernández-Moya, Fernández Perez and Lubinski, 2020).…”