Rights statement: The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 40 (6), 2022, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2022 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship page: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ISB on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Under which circumstances do family SMEs achieve high growth?
T2 - A behavioral perspective
AU - Minola, Tommaso
AU - Baù, Massimo
AU - brumana, mara
AU - De Massis, Alfredo
N1 - The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 40 (6), 2022, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2022 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship page: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ISB on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/
PY - 2022/9/1
Y1 - 2022/9/1
N2 - High-growth firms contribute disproportionately to the creation of employment, wealth and economic development on a global basis. Yet, knowledge of the circumstances under which such growth patterns occur is limited, and the findings with regard to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are inconclusive. Adopting the behavioural agency model, we analyse the effect of family control and related nuances (i.e. degree of family ownership and presence of a family chief executive officer (CEO)) on SME growth. Furthermore, we argue that the type of slack resources and their availability are a crucial organisational contingency when investigating high growth in SMEs. Using a sample of 39,631 European SMEs over a 13-year period, we find that family firms are less likely to achieve high growth compared to non-family firms; having a family CEO further reduces this likelihood. Instead, at higher (vs lower) levels of family ownership, the probability of family firms achieving high growth increases. Furthermore, the availability of high- and low-discretion slack resources influences these relationships. Our study advances current understanding of high growth in general, and family firms in particular.
AB - High-growth firms contribute disproportionately to the creation of employment, wealth and economic development on a global basis. Yet, knowledge of the circumstances under which such growth patterns occur is limited, and the findings with regard to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are inconclusive. Adopting the behavioural agency model, we analyse the effect of family control and related nuances (i.e. degree of family ownership and presence of a family chief executive officer (CEO)) on SME growth. Furthermore, we argue that the type of slack resources and their availability are a crucial organisational contingency when investigating high growth in SMEs. Using a sample of 39,631 European SMEs over a 13-year period, we find that family firms are less likely to achieve high growth compared to non-family firms; having a family CEO further reduces this likelihood. Instead, at higher (vs lower) levels of family ownership, the probability of family firms achieving high growth increases. Furthermore, the availability of high- and low-discretion slack resources influences these relationships. Our study advances current understanding of high growth in general, and family firms in particular.
KW - high growth
KW - SMEs
KW - family control
KW - family firm heterogeneity
KW - slack resources
U2 - 10.1177/02662426221102859
DO - 10.1177/02662426221102859
M3 - Journal article
VL - 40
SP - 768
EP - 798
JO - International Small Business Journal
JF - International Small Business Journal
SN - 0266-2426
IS - 6
ER -