Abstract
Family firms and family business groups and their role in the local business community are largely unexplored territory in the field of family business as well in the field of regional innovation systems. The focus of this chapter is in regional innovation system and particularly in how family firms and family business groups are embedded in this system. The main research question is what is the role of family business groups for the regional innovation system? The present study is also among the first to analyse the intellectual property rights (IPRs) filing activity by family business groups. Descriptive empirical analysis indicates that family business groups are among the top regional innovators.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Furthermore, we reviewed the webpages of Lahti Industrial Association (Lahden Teollisuusseura ry) and the Family Business Association (Perheyritysten Liitto ry) in order to crosscheck our classifications.
- 2.
A more detailed list, including the subsidiaries of the listed family business groups, is available from the authors upon request.
- 3.
Source: http://www.lamk.fi/english/design/about/Sivut/default.aspx (accessed on 1 March 2018).
References
Agrawal, Ajay, and Iain Cockburn. 2003. The Anchor Tenant Hypothesis: Exploring the Role of Large, Local, R&D-Intensive Firms in Regional Innovation Systems. International Journal of Industrial Organization 21: 1227–1253.
Armbruster, Heidi, Andrea Bikfalvi, Steffen Kinkel, and Gunter Lay. 2008. Organizational Innovation: The Challenge of Measuring Non-technical Innovation in Large-Scale Surveys. Technovation 28: 644–657.
Asheim, Bjørn T., and Lars Coenen. 2005. Knowledge Bases and Regional Innovation Systems: Comparing Nordic Clusters. Research Policy 34: 1173–1190.
Asheim, Bjørn T., and Arne Isaksen. 2002. Regional Innovation Systems: The Integration of Local ‘Sticky’ and Global ‘Ubiquitous’ Knowledge. The Journal of Technology Transfer 27: 77–86.
Audretsch, David B., and Maryann P. Feldman. 1996. R&D Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation and Production. The American Economic Review 86: 630–640.
Aula, Pekka, and Vesa Harmaakorpi. 2008. An Innovative Milieu–A View on Regional Reputation Building: Case Study of the Lahti Urban Region. Regional Studies 42: 523–538.
Autio, Erkko. 1998. Evaluation of RTD in Regional Systems of Innovation. European Planning Studies 6: 131–140.
Basco, Rodrigo. 2015. Family Business and Regional Development—A Theoretical Model of Regional Familiness. Journal of Family Business Strategy 6: 259–271.
Beck, Lien, Wim Janssens, Marion Debruyne, and Tinne Lommelen. 2011. A Study of the Relationships Between Generation, Market Orientation, and Innovation in Family Firms. Family Business Review 24: 252–272.
Belenzon, Sharon, and Tomer Berkovitz. 2010. Innovation in Business Groups. Management Science 56: 519–535.
Belenzon, Sharon, Tomer Berkovitz, and Luis A. Rios. 2013. Capital Markets and Firm Organization: How Financial Development Shapes European Corporate Groups. Management Science 59: 1326–1343.
Beneito, Pilar. 2006. The Innovative Performance of in-House and Contracted R&D in Terms of Patents and Utility Models. Research Policy 35: 502–517.
Berkhout, Guus, Dap Hartmann, and Paul Trott. 2010. Connecting Technological Capabilities with Market Needs Using a Cyclic Innovation Model. R&D Management 40: 474–490.
Bessant, John, and Joe Tidd. 2007. Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2007. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Bird, Miriam, and Karl Wennberg. 2014. Regional Influences on the Prevalence of Family Versus Non-family Start-Ups. Journal of Business Venturing 29: 421–436.
Bjuggren, Per-Olof, and Lars-Göran Sund. 2002. A Transition Cost Rationale for Transition of the Firm within the Family. Small Business Economics 19: 123–133.
Block, J.H., and Frank Spiegel. 2013. Family Firm Density and Regional Innovation Output: An Exploratory Analysis. Journal of Family Business Strategy 4: 270–280.
Block, Joern, Danny Miller, Peter Jaskiewicz, and Frank Spiegel. 2013. Economic and Technological Importance of Innovations in Large Family and Founder Firms: An Analysis of Patent Data. Family Business Review 26: 180–199.
Bresciani, Stefano, Alkis Thrassou, and Demetris Vrontis. 2013. Change Through Innovation in Family Businesses: Evidence from an Italian Sample. World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development 9: 195–215.
Carney, Michael, and Eric Gedajlovic. 2000. East Asian Financial Systems and the Transition from Investment-Driven to Innovation-Driven Economic Development. International Journal of Innovation Management 4: 253–276.
Chang, Sea-Jin, Chi-Nien Chung, and Ishtiaq P. Mahmood. 2006. When and How Does Business Group Affiliation Promote Firm Innovation? A Tale of Two Emerging Economies. Organization Science 17: 637–656.
Ciaramella, Laurie, Catalina Martínez, and Yann Ménière. 2017. Tracking Patent Transfers in Different European Countries: Methods and a First Application to Medical Technologies. Scientometrics 112: 817–850.
Cohen, Wesley M., and Steven Klepper. 1996. A Reprise of Size and R & D. The Economic Journal 106: 925–951.
Cohen, Wesley M., and Richard C. Levin. 1989. Empirical Studies of Innovation and Market Structure. In Handbook of Industrial Organization Volume 2, ed. Richard Schmalensee and Robert Willig, 1059–1107. Oxford: Elsevier.
Cooke, Philip, Mikel Gomez Uranga, and Goio Etxebarria. 1997. Regional Innovation Systems: Institutional and Organisational Dimensions. Research Policy 26: 475–491.
Cooke, Philip, Mikel G. Uranga, and Goio Etxebarria. 1998. Regional Systems of Innovation: An Evolutionary Perspective. Environment and Planning A 30: 1563–1584.
Craig, Justin B., Clay Dibrell, and Robert Garrett. 2014. Examining Relationships Among Family Influence, Family Culture, Flexible Planning Systems, Innovativeness and Firm Performance. Journal of Family Business Strategy 5: 229–238.
Daily, Catherine M., and Marc J. Dollinger. 1993. Alternative Methodologies for Identifying Family-Versus Nonfamily-Managed Businesses. Journal of Small Business Management 31: 79–90.
De Massis, Alfredo, Federico Frattini, and Ulrich Lichtenthaler. 2013. Research on Technological Innovation in Family Firms: Present Debates and Future Directions. Family Business Review 26: 10–31.
Duchin, Ran. 2010. Cash Holdings and Corporate Diversification. The Journal of Finance 65: 955–992.
Evangelista, Rinaldo, Simona Iammarino, Valeria Mastrostefano, and Alberto Silvani. 2001. Measuring the Regional Dimension of Innovation. Lessons from the Italian Innovation Survey. Technovation 21: 733–745.
Fellman, Susanna, and Pirkko Leino-Kaukiainen. 2006. Business or Culture? Family Firms in the Finnish Media Business in the 20th Century. Scandinavian Economic History Review 54: 244–272.
Filitz, Rainer, Joachim Henkel, and Bruce S. Tether. 2015. Protecting Aesthetic Innovations? An Exploration of the Use of Registered Community Designs. Research Policy 44: 1192–1206.
Flikkema, Meindert, Ard-Pieter De Man, and Carolina Castaldi. 2014. Are Trademark Counts a Valid Indicator of Innovation? Results of an in-Depth Study of New Benelux Trademarks Filed by SMEs. Industry and Innovation 21: 310–331.
Gallo, Miguel Angel. 2004. The Family Business and Its Social Responsibilities. Family Business Review 17: 135–149.
Gómez-Mejía, L.R., K.T. Haynes, M. Núñez-Nickel, K.J. Jacobson, and J. Moyano-Fuentes. 2007. Socioemotional Wealth and Business Risks in Family-Controlled Firms: Evidence from Spanish Olive Oil Mills. Administrative Science Quarterly 52: 106–137.
Gray, Colin. 2006. Absorptive Capacity, Knowledge Management and Innovation in Entrepreneurial Small Firms. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 12: 345–360.
Griliches, Zvi. 1979. Issues in Assessing the Contribution of Research and Development to Productivity Growth. The Bell Journal of Economics 10: 92–116.
———. 1990. Patent Statistics as Economic Indicators: A Survey. Journal of Economic Literature 28: 1661–1707.
Gudmundson, Donald, C. Burk Tower, and E. Alan Hartman. 2003. Innovation in Small Businesses: Culture and Ownership Structure Do Matter. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 8: 1–17.
Handler, Wendy C. 1989. Methodological Issues and Considerations in Studying Family Businesses. Family Business Review 2: 257–276.
Hausman, Angela. 2005. Innovativeness Among Small Businesses: Theory and Propositions for Future Research. Industrial Marketing Management 34: 773–782.
He, Jia, Xinyang Mao, Oliver M. Rui, and Xiaolei Zha. 2013. Business Groups in China. Journal of Corporate Finance 22: 166–192.
Heikkilä, Jussi, and Annika Lorenz. 2018. Need for Speed? Exploring the Relative Importance of Patents and Utility Models among German Firms. Economics of Innovation and New Technology 27: 80–105.
Holmes, R. Michael, Jr., Robert E. Hoskisson, Hicheon Kim, William P. Wan, and Tim R. Holcomb. 2016. International Strategy and Business Groups: A Review and Future Research Agenda. Journal of World Business 53: 134–150.
Iacobucci, Donato, and Peter Rosa. 2010. The Growth of Business Groups by Habitual Entrepreneurs: The Role of Entrepreneurial Teams. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 34: 351–377.
James, Harvey S. 1999. Owner as Manager, Extended Horizons and the Family Firm. International Journal of the Economics of Business 6: 41–55.
Johannisson, Bengt, and Caroline Wigren. 2006. The Dynamics of Community Identity Making in an Industrial District: The Spirit of Gnosjö Revisited. In Entrepreneurship as Social Change: A Third New Movements in Entrepreneurship Book, ed. Chris Steyaert and Daniel Hjorth, 188–209. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Kallio, Anne, Vesa Harmaakorpi, and Timo Pihkala. 2010. Absorptive Capacity and Social Capital in Regional Innovation Systems: The Case of the Lahti Region in Finland. Urban Studies 47: 303–319.
Kautonen, Mika. 2006. The Regional Innovation System Bottom-Up: A Finnish Perspective. Acta Universitatis Tamperensis, 545. Tampere: Tampere University Press.
Khanna, Tarun, and Krishna Palepu. 2000. Is Group Affiliation Profitable in Emerging Markets? An Analysis of Diversified Indian Business Groups. The Journal of Finance 55: 867–891.
Khanna, Tarun, and Jan W. Rivkin. 2001. Estimating the Performance Effects of Business Groups in Emerging Markets. Strategic Management Journal 22: 45–74.
Khanna, Tarun, and Yishay Yafeh. 2007. Business Groups in Emerging Markets: Paragons or Parasites? Journal of Economic Literature 45: 331–372.
Kleinknecht, Alfred, Kees Van Montfort, and Erik Brouwer. 2002. The Non-trivial Choice Between Innovation Indicators. Economics of Innovation and New Technology 11: 109–121.
Koschatzky, Knut. 2005. The Regionalization of Innovation Policy: New Options for Regional Change? In Rethinking Innovation and Change – Path Dependency or Regional Breakthrough? ed. Gerhard Fuchs and Philip Saphira, 291–312. New York: Springer.
Laforet, Sylvie. 2012. Innovation in Small Family Business. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
———. 2013. Innovation Characteristics of Young and Old Family-Owned Businesses. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 20: 204–224.
Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle, and Danny Miller. 2006. Why Do some Family Businesses Out-Compete? Governance, Long-Term Orientations, and Sustainable Capability. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 30: 731–746.
Leff, Nathaniel H. 1978. Industrial Organization and Entrepreneurship in the Developing Countries: The Economic Groups. Economic Development and Cultural Change 27: 141–158.
Leiponen, Aija. 2005. Organization of Knowledge and Innovation: The Case of Finnish Business Services. Journal of Industry & Innovation 12: 185–203.
Liang, Qiang, Xinchun Li, Xueru Yang, Danming Lin, and Danhui Zheng. 2013. How Does Family Involvement Affect Innovation in China? Asia Pacific Journal of Management 30: 677–695.
Lumpkin, G. Thomas, Keith H. Brigham, and Todd W. Moss. 2010. Long-Term Orientation: Implications for the Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance of Family Businesses. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development 22: 241–264.
Lundvall, Bengt-Åke. 1992. Introduction. In National System of Innovation. Towards a Theory of Innovation and Interactive Learning, ed. Bengt-Åke Lundvall, 1–17. London: Pinter Publishers.
Makkonen, Teemu. 2012. Geography of Innovation in Europe and Finland: Empirical Studies on Innovation Indicators and Regional Development. University of Helsinki, Department of Geosciences and Geography A20. Helsinki: Unigrafia.
Maliranta, Mika, and Satu Nurmi. 2018. Business Owners, Employees, and Firm Performance. Small Business Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-0029-1.
Melkas, Helinä, Tuomo Uotila, and Tomi Tura. 2016. Policies of Related Variety in Practice: The Case Innovation Session Method. European Planning Studies 24: 489–510.
Mendonça, Sandro, Tiago Santos Pereira, and Manuel Mira Godinho. 2004. Trademarks as an Indicator of Innovation and Industrial Change. Research Policy 33: 1385–1404.
Mintzberg, Henry, and James A. Waters. 1985. Of Strategies, Deliberate and Emergent. Strategic Management Journal 6: 257–272.
Muller, Emmanuel, and Andrea Zenker. 2001. Business Services as Actors of Knowledge Transformation: The Role of KIBS in Regional and National Innovation Systems. Research Policy 30: 1501–1516.
Nielsen, Richard P. 1988. Cooperative Strategy. Strategic Management Journal 9: 475–492.
Nieto, Maria Jesus, Lluis Santamaria, and Zulima Fernandez. 2015. Understanding the Innovation Behavior of Family Firms. Journal of Small Business Management 53: 382–399.
Nonaka, Ikujiro, and Hirotaka Takeuchi. 1995. The Knowledge Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Nordqvist, Mattias, and Leif Melin. 2010. Entrepreneurial Families and Family Firms. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development 22: 211–239.
Purkayastha, Saptarshi, Tatiana S. Manolova, and Linda F. Edelman. 2016. Business Group Effects on the R&D Intensity-Internationalization Relationship: Empirical Evidence from India. Journal of World Business 53: 104–117.
Rautiainen, Marita, and Suvi Konsti-Laakso. 2015. Family Firms as Community Innovators in Regional Innovation Platforms. Paper presented at the 11th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Jyväskylä, Finland, September 15–16.
Regional Competitiveness Strategy 2016–2020. Lahden kaupunkiseudun kilpailukykystrategia (in Finnish) Available at: https://www.lahti.fi/PaatoksentekoSite/strategia-ja- talousSite/Documents/kilpailukykystrategia_A4_sivuittain.pdf
Rinkinen, Satu, Tuija Oikarinen, and Helinä Melkas. 2016. Social Enterprises in Regional Innovation Systems: A Review of Finnish Regional Strategies. European Planning Studies 24: 723–741.
Scherer, Frederick M. 1982. Inter-Industry Technology Flows in the United States. Research Policy 11: 227–245.
Schumpeter, Joseph. 1934. The Theory of Economic Development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Sieger, Philipp, Thomas Zellweger, Robert S. Nason, and Eric Clinton. 2011. Portfolio Entrepreneurship in Family Firms: A Resource-Based Perspective. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal 5: 327–351.
Stough, Roger, Friederike Welter, Joern Block, Karl Wennberg, and Rodrigo Basco. 2015. Family Business and Regional Science: “Bridging the Gap”. Journal of Family Business Strategy 6: 208–218.
Thomä, Jörg, and Kilian Bizer. 2013. To Protect or Not to Protect? Modes of Appropriability in the Small Enterprise Sector. Research Policy 42: 35–49.
Tidd, Joe, and John Bessant. 2014. Strategic Innovation Management. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Uotila, Tuomo, and Toni Ahlqvist. 2008. Linking Technology Foresight and Regional Innovation Activities: Network Facilitating Innovation Policy in Lahti Region, Finland. European Planning Studies 16: 1423–1443.
Ward, John L. 1997. Growing the Family Business: Special Challenges and Best Practices. Family Business Review 10: 323–337.
Yin, Robert K. 2009. Case Study Research – Design and Methods. 4th ed. London: Sage.
Zellweger, Thomas Markus, Robert S. Nason, and Mattias Nordqvist. 2012. From Longevity of Firms to Transgenerational Entrepreneurship of Families: Introducing Family Entrepreneurial Orientation. Family Business Review 25: 136–155.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Konsti-Laakso, S., Heikkilä, J., Rautiainen, M., Rinkinen, S., Akhter, N. (2019). The Contribution of Family Business Groups to the Local Innovation Environment. In: Rautiainen, M., Rosa, P., Pihkala, T., Parada, M.J., Cruz, A.D. (eds) The Family Business Group Phenomenon. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98542-8_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98542-8_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-98541-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-98542-8
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)