The impact of conservatism on innovation in family businesses: a state of the art

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between conservatism as an attitude and innovation in family businesses. To achieve this, we have opted for a dialectical approach combined with a narrative synthesis of previous work. On the one hand, conservatism is seen as a factor inhibiting innovation. Because of their emotional attachment to business and stability of ownership, family firms generally show a greater reduction in innovativeness and proactiveness than non-family firms. On the other hand, conservatism is seen as a neutral or sometimes stimulating factor for innovation. Particular importance is then attached to the complex social resources that are the product of relationships between family members, and which are able to ensure greater importance to innovation.