Gender diversity and collaboration with universities: drivers of innovation in family firms

Abstract

Purpose

This paper provides empirical evidence for how gender diversity in top management teams (TMTs) and collaboration with university and technological centres lead to innovation outcomes. The authors review past research on these concepts and illustrate their individual and joint effects on process innovation specifically in the unique context of family firms (FFs).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a sample of 788 Spanish manufacturing family firms in 2016 and applied logistic regression models since the dependent variables are dummies.

Findings

The authors found a positive relationship between gender-diverse TMTs, process innovation and research and development (R&D)-based process innovation. Similarly, the collaboration with university technological centres is positively associated with higher innovation outcome of FFs. In addition, the authors also found that the presence of women in TMTs shapes the relationship between the collaboration with university technological centres and process innovation.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the research on collaborative innovation in FFs by emphasizing the collaboration with university technological centres, an external partner often ignored by this stream of literature. This research also responds to the calls for further study of the effect of the heterogeneity of the TMTs on the innovation outcome of FFs, from the perspective of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firms.

Citation

Rodríguez-Gulías, M.J., Rodeiro-Pazos, D., Calvo, N. and Fernández-López, S. (2023), "Gender diversity and collaboration with universities: drivers of innovation in family firms", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 30 No. 5, pp. 1035-1063. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-09-2022-0368