Comparing the Innovation and Export Performance of Hungarian Family and Non-Family Enterprises: Experiences Drawn from Empirical Surveys
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Framework
2.1. Concept and Measurement of Innovation
2.2. Definition of Family Firms
- The majority of decision-making rights are in the possession of the natural person(s) who established the firm, or in the possession of the natural person(s) who has/have acquired the share capital of the firm, or in the possession of their spouses, parents, child, or children’s direct heirs.
- The majority of decision-making rights are indirect or direct.
- At least one representative of the family or kin is formally involved in the governance of the firm.
- Listed companies meet the definition of family enterprise if the person who established or acquired the firm (share capital) or their families or descendants hold 25 per cent of the decision-making rights mandated by their share capital.
2.3. Innovation in Family Businesses
- Long-term orientation, which can offset risk aversion and have a positive impact on export activity and new product development (see more: Gomez-Mejia et al. 2010);
- Faster decision making, which can help seize opportunities more quickly;
- Interests and preferences are more easily aligned, reducing information asymmetries;
- Greater altruism among owners and managers can create an organisational culture of risk awareness and risk appetite that enables the pursuit of long-term growth strategies (see more: Gomez-Mejia et al. 2003; Schulze et al. 2003; Zahra 2003);
- It allows for more frequent interactions and more opportunities for learning (see more: (Veider and Matzler 2016)) while the parties speak a unique family language.
3. Methodology
4. Results
5. Conclusions and Discussion
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
1 | In alphabetical order, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia. |
2 | Using the annual average exchange rates of the European Central Bank (European Central Bank 2023), this value corresponds to EUR 161.71 thousand, EUR 142.35 thousand, and EUR 127.78 thousand in 2017, 2020 and 2022, respectively, due to the continuous devaluation of the Hungarian forint against the euro. |
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Variable Name | Survey Question | Scale of Measurement |
---|---|---|
IN01 | Which changes were implemented in your business out of the followings in the last 2 years/A significant development/improvement in the product/service. | dummy |
IN02 | Which changes were implemented in your business out of the followings in the last 2 years/A significant development/improvement in the process used to produce the product/service | dummy |
IN03 | Which changes were implemented in your business out of the followings in the last 2 years/Entering to a new market (consumer segment/geographical unit) with the product/service | dummy |
IN04 | Which changes were implemented in your business out of the followings in the last 2 years/Exploring new sources of raw materials | dummy |
IN05 | Which changes were implemented in your business out of the followings in the last 2 years/Introduction of significant developments, improvements, more efficient methods of operating the organisation | dummy |
INNOV_sum | Number of innovation types carried out in the last 2 years | scale, ranged between 0 and 5 |
PZ05 | Does your business undertake any export activity? | dummy |
TGA_CSV | Familiness of the business | categorical (0 = non-family business; 1 = family business without generational transitioning aspirations; 2 = family business with generational transitioning aspirations) |
Hypothesis | Methodology Used |
---|---|
H1: The innovation activity of exporting firms is higher than that of firms not active in foreign markets. | Pearson’s chi-square test |
t-test | |
H2: Family businesses are more innovative than non-family businesses. | Pearson’s chi-square test |
one-way ANOVA | |
H3: A link can be found between the familiness of enterprises and their activity in export markets. | Pearson’s chi-square test |
2017 | 2020 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|
Product/service has undergone a significant development/improvement | 1.576 | 1.280 | 2.006 |
Significant development/improvement has been made in the process that produced the product/service | 1.517 | 2.224 | 2.291 |
A new market was entered with the product/service (consumer segment/geographic unit) | 2.483 | 2.216 | 1.314 |
New sources of raw materials were explored | 1.555 | 1.626 | 2.867 |
Significant developments, improvements and more efficient methods have been introduced in the operation of the organisation | 1.434 | 1.674 | 1.981 |
Pearson’s Chi-Square | Cramer’s V | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 2020 | 2022 | 2017 | 2020 | 2022 | ||||
Asymptotic Sig. (2-Sided) | Asymptotic Sig. (2-Sided) | Asymptotic Sig. (2-Sided) | Value | Approx. Sig. | Value | Approx. Sig. | Value | Approx. Sig. | |
Product/service has undergone a significant development/improvement | 0.005 | 0.257 | 0.019 | 0.165 | 0.005 | 0.051 | 0.257 | 0.105 | 0.019 |
Significant development/improvement has been made in the process that produced the product/service | 0.015 | 0.000 | 0.007 | 0.148 | 0.015 | 0.167 | 0.000 | 0.121 | 0.007 |
A new market was entered with the product/service (consumer segment/geographic unit) | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.508 | 0.333 | 0.000 | 0.164 | 0.000 | 0.030 | 0.508 |
New sources of raw materials were explored | 0.012 | 0.026 | 0.000 | 0.151 | 0.012 | 0.100 | 0.026 | 0.176 | 0.000 |
Significant developments, improvements and more efficient methods have been introduced in the operation of the organisation | 0.035 | 0.020 | 0.028 | 0.132 | 0.035 | 0.104 | 0.020 | 0.098 | 0.028 |
Year | Export Activity | Number of Businesses (n) | Innovation Types | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean | Std. Deviation | Std. Error Mean | |||
2017 | yes | 128 | 2.1797 | 1.55950 | 0.13784 |
no | 256 | 1.2891 | 1.43706 | 0.08982 | |
2020 | yes | 75 | 1.8163 | 1.68870 | 0.19533 |
no | 422 | 1.1427 | 1.26313 | 0.06151 | |
2022 | yes | 49 | 1.2954 | 1.13378 | 0.16277 |
no | 451 | 0.6588 | 0.95424 | 0.04491 |
Pearson’s Chi-Square | Cramer’s V | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 2020 | 2022 | 2017 | 2020 | 2022 | ||||
Asymptotic Sig. (2-Sided) | Asymptotic Sig. (2-Sided) | Asymptotic Sig. (2-Sided) | Value | Approx. Sig. | Value | Approx. Sig. | Value | Approx. Sig. | |
Product/service has undergone a significant development/improvement | 0.506 | 0.004 | 0.858 | 0.059 | 0.506 | 0.147 | 0.004 | 0.858 | 0.858 |
Significant development/improvement has been made in the process that produced the product/service | 0.357 | 0.475 | 0.719 | 0.073 | 0.357 | 0.055 | 0.475 | 0.719 | 0.719 |
A new market was entered with the product/service (consumer segment/geographic unit) | 0.272 | 0.000 | 0.787 | 0.082 | 0.272 | 0.175 | 0.000 | 0.787 | 0.787 |
New sources of raw materials were explored | 0.792 | 0.002 | 0.786 | 0.035 | 0.792 | 0.156 | 0.002 | 0.786 | 0.786 |
Significant developments, improvements and more efficient methods have been introduced in the operation of the organisation | 0.889 | 0.047 | 0.226 | 0.025 | 0.889 | 0.111 | 0.047 | 0.226 | 0.226 |
2017 | 2020 | 2022 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Pearson’s Chi-Square | Asymptotic Significance (2-sided) | 0.719 | 0.050 | 0.470 |
Cramer’s V | Value | 0.052 | 0.110 | 0.055 |
Approximate Significance | 0.719 | 0.050 | 0.470 |
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Csákné Filep, J.; Radácsi, L.; Szennay, Á. Comparing the Innovation and Export Performance of Hungarian Family and Non-Family Enterprises: Experiences Drawn from Empirical Surveys. Adm. Sci. 2023, 13, 146. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13060146
Csákné Filep J, Radácsi L, Szennay Á. Comparing the Innovation and Export Performance of Hungarian Family and Non-Family Enterprises: Experiences Drawn from Empirical Surveys. Administrative Sciences. 2023; 13(6):146. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13060146
Chicago/Turabian StyleCsákné Filep, Judit, László Radácsi, and Áron Szennay. 2023. "Comparing the Innovation and Export Performance of Hungarian Family and Non-Family Enterprises: Experiences Drawn from Empirical Surveys" Administrative Sciences 13, no. 6: 146. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13060146