IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/fambus/v6y2015i3p190-205.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Moving forward or running to standstill? Exploring the nature and the role of family firms’ strategic orientation

Author

Listed:
  • Riviezzo, Angelo
  • Garofano, Antonella
  • Napolitano, Maria Rosaria
  • Marino, Vittoria

Abstract

Significant deficiencies still persist in the literature regarding how family firms approach exploration and exploitation, and how the unique characteristics of such firms affect their ability to balance the two strategic orientations. This article aims to contribute to the debate by (1) providing a conceptualization of exploration and exploitation within long-lived family firms, (2) analyzing the role and the temporal dynamics of exploration and exploitation within long-lived family firms, and (3) identifying the characteristics of family businesses that facilitate the equilibrium between exploration and exploitation. We used a cross-case study, with an in-depth analysis of 24 firms belonging to an Italian association of historical family firms. Based on our findings, we argue that exploration and exploitation are independent and not opposing forces, which are balanced over time, and not at any point of time. This balance is almost naturally reached, thanks to specific features of family businesses that need to be evaluated considering the family level of analysis besides the organization one.

Suggested Citation

  • Riviezzo, Angelo & Garofano, Antonella & Napolitano, Maria Rosaria & Marino, Vittoria, 2015. "Moving forward or running to standstill? Exploring the nature and the role of family firms’ strategic orientation," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 190-205.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:fambus:v:6:y:2015:i:3:p:190-205
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfbs.2015.06.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877858515000327
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jfbs.2015.06.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mary Han, 2007. "Achieving Superior Internationalization Through Strategic Ambidexterity," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(01), pages 43-77.
    2. James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Shaker A. Zahra, 2003. "Creating Wealth in Family Firms through Managing Resources: Comments and Extensions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 27(4), pages 359-365, October.
    3. Danny Miller & Isabelle Le Breton‐Miller & Barry Scholnick, 2008. "Stewardship vs. Stagnation: An Empirical Comparison of Small Family and Non‐Family Businesses," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 51-78, January.
    4. Welsh, Dianne H.B. & Memili, Esra & Rosplock, Kirby & Roure, Juan & Segurado, Juan Luis, 2013. "Perceptions of entrepreneurship across generations in family offices: A stewardship theory perspective," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 213-226.
    5. Astrachan, Joseph H., 2010. "Strategy in family business: Toward a multidimensional research agenda," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 6-14, March.
    6. Thomas Zellweger & Philipp Sieger, 2012. "Entrepreneurial orientation in long-lived family firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 67-84, January.
    7. Michael Lubatkin & Zeki Simsek & Yan Ling & John F. Veiga, 2006. "Ambidexterity and Performance in Small-to Medium-Sized Firms : The Pivotal Role of Top Management Team Behavioral Integration," Post-Print hal-02311781, HAL.
    8. Pankaj C. Patel & James O. Fiet, 2011. "Knowledge Combination and the Potential Advantages of Family Firms in Searching for Opportunities," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(6), pages 1179-1197, November.
    9. Webb, Justin W. & Ketchen Jr., David J. & Ireland, R. Duane, 2010. "Strategic entrepreneurship within family-controlled firms: Opportunities and challenges," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 67-77, June.
    10. James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Pramodita Sharma, 2005. "Trends and Directions in the Development of a Strategic Management Theory of the Family Firm," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(5), pages 555-575, September.
    11. Pramodita Sharma & Carlo Salvato, 2011. "Commentary: Exploiting and Exploring New Opportunities over Life Cycle Stages of Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(6), pages 1199-1205, November.
    12. Qing Cao & Eric Gedajlovic & Hongping Zhang, 2009. "Unpacking Organizational Ambidexterity: Dimensions, Contingencies, and Synergistic Effects," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 781-796, August.
    13. Juha Uotila & Markku Maula & Thomas Keil & Shaker A. Zahra, 2009. "Exploration, exploitation, and financial performance: analysis of S&P 500 corporations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 221-231, February.
    14. Justin J.P. Jansen & Frans A.J. Van den Bosch & Henk W. Volberda, 2005. "Exploratory Innovation, Exploitative Innovation, And Ambidexterity: The Impact Of Environmental And Organizational Antecedents," Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr), LMU Munich School of Management, vol. 57(4), pages 351-363, October.
    15. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    16. Isabelle Le Breton-Miller & Danny Miller, 2011. "Commentary: Family Firms and the Advantage of Multitemporality," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(6), pages 1171-1177, November.
    17. Geoffrey Jones & Tarun Khanna, 2006. "Bringing history (back) into international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(4), pages 453-468, July.
    18. De Massis, Alfredo & Kotlar, Josip, 2014. "The case study method in family business research: Guidelines for qualitative scholarship," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 15-29.
    19. Dawson, Alexandra & Mussolino, Donata, 2014. "Exploring what makes family firms different: Discrete or overlapping constructs in the literature?," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 169-183.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Canale, Fernanda & Müller, Claudio & Laveren, Eddy & Cambré, Bart, 2024. "The role of the family and the institutional context for ambidexterity in Latin American family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 15(1).
    2. Rolf Wilmes & Leif Brändle & Andreas Kuckertz, 2024. "Seeds in rocky soil: the interactive role of entrepreneurial legacy and bridging in family firms’ organizational ambidexterity," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 1041-1064, October.
    3. Wang, Delu & Ma, Gang & Song, Xuefeng & Liu, Yun, 2016. "Political connection and business transformation in family firms: Evidence from China," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 117-130.
    4. Elisa Conz & Stefano Denicolai & Alfredo Massis, 2024. "Preserving the longevity of long-lasting family businesses: a multilevel model," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(3), pages 707-744, September.
    5. Centobelli, Piera & Cerchione, Roberto & Esposito, Emilio & Shashi,, 2019. "Exploration and exploitation in the development of more entrepreneurial universities: A twisting learning path model of ambidexterity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 172-194.
    6. Marco Berti & Miguel Pina e Cunha, 2023. "Paradox, Dialectics or Trade‐Offs? A Double Loop Model of Paradox," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 861-888, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Unai Arzubiaga & Amaia Maseda & Txomin Iturralde, 2019. "Exploratory and exploitative innovation in family businesses: the moderating role of the family firm image and family involvement in top management," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-31, February.
    2. Veider, Viktoria & Matzler, Kurt, 2016. "The ability and willingness of family-controlled firms to arrive at organizational ambidexterity," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 105-116.
    3. Conz, Elisa & Lamb, Peter William & De Massis, Alfredo, 2020. "Practicing resilience in family firms: An investigation through phenomenography," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(2).
    4. Canale, Fernanda & Müller, Claudio & Laveren, Eddy & Cambré, Bart, 2024. "The role of the family and the institutional context for ambidexterity in Latin American family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 15(1).
    5. Olga Kassotaki, 2022. "Review of Organizational Ambidexterity Research," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    6. Vinit Parida & Tom Lahti & Joakim Wincent, 2016. "Exploration and exploitation and firm performance variability: a study of ambidexterity in entrepreneurial firms," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 1147-1164, December.
    7. Jürgen Weibler & Tobias Keller, 2011. "Ambidextrie in Abhängigkeit von Führungsverantwortung und Marktwahrnehmung: Eine empirische Analyse des individuellen Arbeitsverhaltens in Unternehmen," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 155-188, March.
    8. Hu, Min & Dou, Junsheng & You, Xialei, 2023. "Is organizational ambidexterity always beneficial to family-managed SMEs? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    9. Volkan Yeniaras & Pinar Sener & Suheyl Unver, 0. "Is market learning the missing link between family involvement – firm performance relationship? A resource-based perspective," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-30.
    10. Volkan Yeniaras & Pinar Sener & Suheyl Unver, 2017. "Is market learning the missing link between family involvement – firm performance relationship? A resource-based perspective," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 575-604, June.
    11. Vahlne, Jan-Erik & Jonsson, Anna, 2017. "Ambidexterity as a dynamic capability in the globalization of the multinational business enterprise (MBE): Case studies of AB Volvo and IKEA," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 57-70.
    12. Sabyasachi Sinha, 2015. "The Exploration–Exploitation Dilemma: A Review in the Context of Managing Growth of New Ventures," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 40(3), pages 313-323, September.
    13. Montserrat Manzaneque & Alfonso A. Rojo-Ramírez & Julio Diéguez-Soto & Maria J. Martínez-Romero, 2020. "How negative aspiration performance gaps affect innovation efficiency," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 209-233, January.
    14. Manuel Guisado-González & Jennifer González-Blanco & José Luis Coca-Pérez, 2019. "Exploration, exploitation, and firm age in alliance portfolios," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 9(4), pages 387-406, December.
    15. David B. Audretsch & Maribel Guerrero, 2023. "Is ambidexterity the missing link between entrepreneurship, management, and innovation?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(6), pages 1891-1918, December.
    16. Gedajlovic, Eric & Cao, Qing & Zhang, Hongping, 2012. "Corporate shareholdings and organizational ambidexterity in high-tech SMEs: Evidence from a transitional economy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 652-665.
    17. Oana Buliga & Christian W. Scheiner & Kai-Ingo Voigt, 2016. "Business model innovation and organizational resilience: towards an integrated conceptual framework," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 86(6), pages 647-670, August.
    18. Úbeda-García, Mercedes & Claver-Cortés, Enrique & Marco-Lajara, Bartolomé & Zaragoza-Sáez, Patrocinio, 2020. "Toward a dynamic construction of organizational ambidexterity: Exploring the synergies between structural differentiation, organizational context, and interorganizational relations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 363-372.
    19. Andreea N. Kiss & Dirk Libaers & Pamela S. Barr & Tang Wang & Miles A. Zachary, 2020. "CEO cognitive flexibility, information search, and organizational ambidexterity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(12), pages 2200-2233, December.
    20. José Andrade & Mário Franco & Luis Mendes, 2021. "Technological capacity and organisational ambidexterity: the moderating role of environmental dynamism on Portuguese technological SMEs," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(7), pages 2111-2136, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:fambus:v:6:y:2015:i:3:p:190-205. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/719791/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.