區域制度視角下，家族與非家族企業創新投入的比較研究

Abstract

Firms, as the main entities of national innovation, their innovation levels not only concern their own survival but also exert an influence on the economic growth of the country. During the process of over four decades of reform and opening up, the position and role of the private economy in China's economic and social development have become increasingly prominent. Family firms occupy a considerable portion in private firms and have emerged as a significant force promoting China's economic transformation and upgrading. Chinese private firms contribute over 60% to GDP, among which family firms account for 85%, demonstrating their considerable contribution. Nevertheless, firms in China, particularly family firms, commonly encounter the issue of insufficient innovation input. This not only reduces the core competitiveness and long-term development orientation of family firms but also is unfavorable for the construction of an innovative country. Therefore, the research on innovation in family firms has become a topic of common concern in both academia and practice. In order to clarify the current situation of innovation in family and non-family firms under the Chinese institutional background and provide meticulous environmental policy suggestions, the author has conducted research on the following issues: (1) The influence mechanism of innovation input by family firms. (2) How family and non-family firms make differentiated innovation input decisions as regional institutions change. (3) The differences in the impact of R&D input on financial performance between family and non-family firms. Based on the empirical study of panel data of listed firms in thirty manufacturing industries from 2010 to 2022, this paper conducts two sub-studies.

In sub-study one, the author initially discovers that the wealth of the owners of family firms is more concentrated and their social emotional wealth restricts the innovation input of family firms. Further, the author contends that when government intervention weakens, the increase in innovation input of family firms is smaller than that of non-family firms. Specifically, in regions with more government intervention, competition is to a greater extent influenced by non-market forces based on social resources; in regions with less government intervention, the intrinsic quality of products and services and the efficiency of operational processes are more important influencing factors. Firms will adjust their innovation strategies in accordance with changes in government intervention. From the two aspects of control over social emotional wealth and social relationships, when facing a weakening of government intervention, family firms are less willing to increase innovation input.

In sub-study two, on the basis of the differences in R&D input between family and non-family firms, the author hopes to further explore the differences in the impact of R&D input on financial performance between family and non-family firms. The author proposes that family governance has two opposite forces on the efficiency of R&D input. The first is a positive force, derived from internal supervision and the establishment and maintenance of long-term trust-based relationships with internal and external stakeholders. The second is a negative force, derived from internal nepotism and excessive reliance on external partners. The empirical results show that family firms weaken the positive impact of enterprise R&D input on ROA. Compared with non-family firms, the positive impact of R&D input on financial performance is smaller for family firms. However, the ROA of family firms is significantly higher than that of non-family firms. On the whole, the higher enterprise performance of family firms does not stem from their innovation input and innovation efficiency.

This paper systematically conducts a comparative study on the innovation input and output of family and non-family firms and, in combination with national conditions, examines the differentiated impact of heterogeneous regional institutions on innovation activities more precisely by dividing regional institutions into vertical dimensions (government intervention) and horizontal dimensions (contractual institutions). This will further expand the research on enterprise strategies in the context of China's institutions and also assist us in understanding the debate on innovation in family firms from an institutional perspective.

Date of Award	2 Apr 2025
Original language	Chinese (Traditional)
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Qian Sun (External Supervisor) & Zheng WANG (Supervisor)