IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v11y2024i1d10.1057_s41599-023-02510-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unique types and innovation input of family firm CEOs: moderating role of managerial ability in Chinese listed firms

Author

Listed:
  • Sadeen Ghafoor

    (Liaoning University)

  • Weidong Huo

    (Liaoning University)

  • Man Wang

    (Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, China and China Internal Control Research Center)

  • Yunjiang Geng

    (Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, China and China Internal Control Research Center)

  • Muhammad Zulfiqar

    (Liaoning University)

  • Muhammad Usman Yousaf

    (Government College University)

Abstract

In family firms the role of CEO is highly significant with reference to devise strategic decisions and deciding if it is feasible to invest in innovation input. This study aims to investigate the behaviour analyses of the diverse types of CEOs in family firms towards innovations. This study also analyzes the moderating role of managerial ability in the nexus of CEO types and innovation input. The data are obtained from Chinese A-share listed family firms from Accounting Research and China Stock Exchange in 2012–2020 and analysed using ordinary least squares regression. Tobit and probit regressions are also employed to confirm the results. Results indicate that non-family and family CEOs (with no controlling rights) show identical behaviour concerning their lower intentions to promote innovations in R&D projects than family CEOs with actual controlling rights. In addition, family CEOs with actual controlling rights exert a positive effect on R&D, indicating that they are more willing to invest in innovative projects. Moreover, we observe the significant moderating role of managerial ability in the nexus of CEO types and innovation activities. We find that high managerial ability alters the behaviour of different CEOs. With the moderation of managerial ability, non-family and family CEOs (without actual controlling rights) also show willingness to invest in innovative projects and without managerial ability, CEOs’ willingness to make innovations decline. This study is a pioneer work that investigates the impact of diverse types of CEOs to unlock notable insights regarding the R&D investment behaviour of Chinese family firms with moderating role of managerial ability. This study is useful to all parties involved with the company, including employees, clients, suppliers and customers. The results of this study can also assist board members in selecting and recruiting non-family CEOs or keeping family CEOs (with or without actual controlling rights).

Suggested Citation

  • Sadeen Ghafoor & Weidong Huo & Man Wang & Yunjiang Geng & Muhammad Zulfiqar & Muhammad Usman Yousaf, 2024. "Unique types and innovation input of family firm CEOs: moderating role of managerial ability in Chinese listed firms," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-02510-3
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-023-02510-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-023-02510-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-023-02510-3?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. Samuel B. Bonsall IV & Eric R. Holzman & Brian P. Miller, 2017. "Managerial Ability and Credit Risk Assessment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(5), pages 1425-1449, May.
    2. Ali Moghadamzadeh & Pejman Ebrahimi & Soodabeh Radfard & Aidin Salamzadeh & Datis Khajeheian, 2020. "Investigating the Role of Customer Co-Creation Behavior on Social Media Platforms in Rendering Innovative Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Lu, Jane Wenzhen & Liang, Xueji & Shan, Mengmeng & Liang, Xiaoya, 2015. "Internationalization and Performance of Chinese Family Firms: The Moderating Role of Corporate Governance," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(4), pages 645-678, December.
    4. Philippe Aghion & John Van Reenen & Luigi Zingales, 2013. "Innovation and Institutional Ownership," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(1), pages 277-304, February.
    5. Xuan Tian & Tracy Yue Wang, 2014. "Tolerance for Failure and Corporate Innovation," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 211-255, January.
    6. Lin, Zhilu & Patel, Pankaj & Oghazi, Pejvak, 2021. "The value of managerial ability and general ability for inventor CEOs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 78-98.
    7. Hicheon Kim & Heechun Kim & Peggy M. Lee, 2008. "Ownership Structure and the Relationship Between Financial Slack and R&D Investments: Evidence from Korean Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(3), pages 404-418, June.
    8. Josh Lerner & Julie Wulf, 2007. "Innovation and Incentives: Evidence from Corporate R&D," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(4), pages 634-644, November.
    9. Smith, Brian F. & Amoako-Adu, Ben, 1999. "Management succession and financial performance of family controlled firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 341-368, December.
    10. Morten Bennedsen & Kasper Meisner Nielsen & Francisco Perez-Gonzalez & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2007. "Inside the Family Firm: The Role of Families in Succession Decisions and Performance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(2), pages 647-691.
    11. Jaskiewicz, Peter & Combs, James G. & Rau, Sabine B., 2015. "Entrepreneurial legacy: Toward a theory of how some family firms nurture transgenerational entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 29-49.
    12. Custódio, Cláudia & Ferreira, Miguel A. & Matos, Pedro, 2013. "Generalists versus specialists: Lifetime work experience and chief executive officer pay," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(2), pages 471-492.
    13. Daniele Cerrato & Mariacristina Piva, 2012. "The internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises: the effect of family management, human capital and foreign ownership," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(4), pages 617-644, November.
    14. Vincent P. Crawford & Miguel A. Costa-Gomes, 2006. "Cognition and Behavior in Two-Person Guessing Games: An Experimental Study," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(5), pages 1737-1768, December.
    15. Carney, Michael & Zhao, Jing & Zhu, Limin, 2019. "Lean innovation: Family firm succession and patenting strategy in a dynamic institutional landscape," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(4).
    16. McCloskey, Deirdre N., 2013. "Tunzelmann, Schumpeter, and the Hockey Stick," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(10), pages 1706-1715.
    17. Sadeen Ghafoor & Man Wang & Shihua Chen & Rao Zhang & Muhammad Zulfiqar, 2022. "Behavioural investigation of the impact of different types of CEOs on innovation in family firms: moderating role of ownership divergence between cash flow rights and voting rights," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 2906-2929, December.
    18. Avi Goldfarb & Mo Xiao, 2011. "Who Thinks about the Competition? Managerial Ability and Strategic Entry in US Local Telephone Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 3130-3161, December.
    19. Luis R. Gomez‐Mejia & Marianna Makri & Martin Larraza Kintana, 2010. "Diversification Decisions in Family‐Controlled Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 223-252, March.
    20. Xu, Nianhang & Yuan, Qingbo & Jiang, Xuanyu & Chan, Kam C., 2015. "Founder's political connections, second generation involvement, and family firm performance: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 243-259.
    21. Irene Wei Kiong Ting & Imen Tebourbi & Wen-Min Lu & Qian Long Kweh, 2021. "The effects of managerial ability on firm performance and the mediating role of capital structure: evidence from Taiwan," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 7(1), pages 1-23, December.
    22. Chamu Sundaramurthy & James M. Mahoney & Joseph T. Mahoney, 1997. "Board Structure, Antitakeover Provisions, And Stockholder Wealth," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 231-245, March.
    23. Sanjay Jain & Anil Nair & David Ahlstrom, 2015. "Introduction to the Special Issue: Towards a theoretical understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship in India," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 835-841, December.
    24. Panayiotis C. Andreou & Dennis Philip & Peter Robejsek, 2016. "Bank Liquidity Creation and Risk-Taking: Does Managerial Ability Matter?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1-2), pages 226-259, January.
    25. Gustavo Manso, 2011. "Motivating Innovation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(5), pages 1823-1860, October.
    26. Rey-Martí, Andrea & Ribeiro-Soriano, Domingo & Sánchez-García, José Luis, 2016. "Giving back to society: Job creation through social entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 2067-2072.
    27. Di Wang & Zhanchi Wu & Junjie You & Bangzhu Zhu & Rongwu Zhang, 2023. "Does hometown connection between chairmen and CEOs improve compensation–performance sensitivity in China?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    28. Léo-Paul Dana & Aidin Salamzadeh & Samira Mortazavi & Morteza Hadizadeh, 2022. "Investigating the Impact of International Markets and New Digital Technologies on Business Innovation in Emerging Markets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-15, January.
    29. Cláudia Custódio & Miguel A. Ferreira & Pedro Matos, 2019. "Do General Managerial Skills Spur Innovation?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(2), pages 459-476, February.
    30. Patricio Duran & Nadine Kammerlander & Marc van Essen & Thomas Zellweger, 2016. "Doing More with Less : Innovation Input and Output in Family Firms," Post-Print hal-02312103, HAL.
    31. Patricio Duran & Nadine Kammerlander & Marc van Essen & Thomas Zellweger, 2016. "Doing More with Less : Innovation Input and Output in Family Firms," Post-Print hal-02276703, HAL.
    32. Peter Demerjian & Baruch Lev & Sarah McVay, 2012. "Quantifying Managerial Ability: A New Measure and Validity Tests," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(7), pages 1229-1248, July.
    33. Kale, Jayant R. & Shahrur, Husayn, 2007. "Corporate capital structure and the characteristics of suppliers and customers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 321-365, February.
    34. Mike W. Peng & Yi Jiang, 2010. "Institutions Behind Family Ownership and Control in Large Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 253-273, March.
    35. Kent Eriksson & Jan Johanson & Anders Majkgård & D Deo Sharma, 1997. "Experimental Knowledge and Costs in the Internationalization Process," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 28(2), pages 337-360, June.
    36. Chen, Yangyang & Podolski, Edward J. & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2015. "Does managerial ability facilitate corporate innovative success?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 313-326.
    37. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    38. Muhammad Zulfiqar & Khalid Hussain, 2020. "Ceo Compensation And Firm Innovation: Moderating Role Of Ownership Concentration," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(06), pages 1-27, August.
    39. Andreou, Panayiotis C. & Karasamani, Isabella & Louca, Christodoulos & Ehrlich, Daphna, 2017. "The impact of managerial ability on crisis-period corporate investment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 107-122.
    40. Rugman, Alan M. & Nguyen, Quyen T. K. & Wei, Ziyi, 2016. "Rethinking the Literature on the Performance of Chinese Multinational Enterprises," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(2), pages 269-302, June.
    41. Chemmanur, Thomas J. & He, Shan & Hu, Gang, 2009. "The role of institutional investors in seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(3), pages 384-411, December.
    42. Waldkirch, Matthias, 2020. "Non-family CEOs in family firms: Spotting gaps and challenging assumptions for a future research agenda," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(1).
    43. Danny Miller & Isabelle Le Breton‐Miller & Richard H. Lester, 2011. "Family and Lone Founder Ownership and Strategic Behaviour: Social Context, Identity, and Institutional Logics," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 1-25, January.
    44. Alfredo De massis & Federico Frattini & Emanuele Pizzurno & Lucio Cassia, 2015. "Product Innovation in Family versus Nonfamily Firms: An Exploratory Analysis," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(1), pages 1-36, January.
    45. Jiang, Fuxiu & Jiang, Zhan & Kim, Kenneth A. & Zhang, Min, 2015. "Family-firm risk-taking: Does religion matter?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 260-278.
    46. Danny Miller & Isabelle Le Breton-Miller & Alessandro Minichilli & Guido Corbetta & Daniel Pittino, 2014. "When do Non-Family CEOs Outperform in Family Firms? Agency and Behavioural Agency Perspectives," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 547-572, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Wen-Ting Lin & Linda C. Wang, 2021. "Family firms, R&D, and internationalization: the stewardship and socio-emotional wealth perspectives," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 91-119, March.
    2. Hanqing “Chevy” Fang & Kulraj Singh & Taewoo Kim & Laura Marler & James J. Chrisman, 2022. "Family business research in Asia: review and future directions," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 1215-1256, December.
    3. Yung, Kenneth & Nguyen, Trung, 2020. "Managerial ability, product market competition, and firm behavior," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 102-116.
    4. Cheng, Lingsha & Cheung, Adrian (Waikong), 2021. "Is there a dark side of managerial ability? Evidence from the use of derivatives and firm risk in China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2).
    5. Kenneth Yung & Chen Chen, 2018. "Managerial ability and firm risk-taking behavior," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 1005-1032, November.
    6. Gaganis, Chrysovalantis & Galariotis, Emilios & Pasiouras, Fotios & Tasiou, Menelaos, 2023. "Managerial ability and corporate greenhouse gas emissions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 438-453.
    7. Anna Maria Bornhausen & Torsten Wulf, 2024. "Digital innovation in family firms: The roles of non-family managers and transgenerational control intentions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1429-1448, April.
    8. Yalin Jiang & Wei Cai & Yu Wang, 2024. "Change starts within: does managerial ability matter to green innovation?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    9. James, Hui Liang & Ngo, Thanh & Wang, Hongxia, 2023. "The impact of more able managers on corporate trade credit," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    10. Tu Nguyen & Jing Zhao, 2021. "Industry tournament incentives and corporate innovation," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(9-10), pages 1797-1845, October.
    11. Patricio Duran & Nadine Kammerlander & Marc van Essen & Thomas Zellweger, 2016. "Doing More with Less : Innovation Input and Output in Family Firms," Post-Print hal-02276703, HAL.
    12. Qian Wang & Xiaojie Pei & Huigang Liang, 2022. "Founder CEO, CEO Characteristics, and Firm Innovation Efficiency: An Empirical Study of China’s GEM-Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-22, July.
    13. Pascual Berrone & Patricio Duran & Luis Gómez-Mejía & Pursey P M A R Heugens & Tatiana Kostova & Marc Essen, 2022. "Impact of informal institutions on the prevalence, strategy, and performance of family firms: A meta-analysis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 1153-1177, August.
    14. Francis, Bill & Mani, Suresh Babu & Sharma, Zenu & Wu, Qiang, 2021. "The impact of organization capital on firm innovation," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    15. Patricio Duran & Marcelo Ortiz, 2020. "When More Is Better: Multifamily Firms and Firm Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(4), pages 761-783, July.
    16. Ben Abdesslem, Rim & Chkir, Imed & Dabbou, Halim, 2022. "Is managerial ability a moderator? The effect of credit risk and liquidity risk on the likelihood of bank default," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    17. Cho, Chanho & Halford, Joseph T. & Hsu, Scott & Ng, Lilian, 2016. "Do managers matter for corporate innovation?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 206-229.
    18. Jin-hui Luo & Xue Li & Linda C. Wang & Yue Liu, 2021. "Owner type, pyramidal structure and R&D Investment in China’s family firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 1085-1111, September.
    19. Zheng, Xiaojia & Zhu, Bing & Yang, Ge, 2023. "The soft landing: Does intrafamily succession matter for corporate risk-taking?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    20. Ya-Fang Wang & Yen-Fang Kuo, 2020. "Exploring the Family Effect on Innovative Capacity and Earnings Management," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), Kavala Campus, Greece, vol. 13(2), pages 39-61, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-02510-3. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    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.