Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

How negative aspiration performance gaps affect innovation efficiency

  • Published:
Small Business Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

By taking insights from the behavioral theory, this study analyzes how performing below aspiration levels influences innovation efficiency. Furthermore, this research analyzes whether firms respond differently to performance pressures depending on certain factors at the organizational level, such as financial slack and family management. Conducting a panel data analysis on 3116 observations of Spanish manufacturing firms over the 2001–2013 period, we find that performing below aspiration levels improves the firm’s conversion rate of innovation efficiency in both the short and the long term. Furthermore, this study confirms that two contingencies, namely the levels of financial slack and family management, are quite relevant towards gaining a full understanding of the complex nuances associated with the investigated core relationship.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Following to Baysinger and Hoskisson (1989), we consider as industries with technological opportunities those such as chemicals, computers, drugs, aerospace equipment, electrical equipment, precision instruments, and photographic equipment and supplies

  2. Regions in the European Union—NUTS 2013/EU-28. Eurostat: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/overview [Accessed 1st of July of 2016]. The subdivisions are (1) Madrid (reference category), (2) Northwest of Spain, (3) Northeastern, (4) Center, (5) South, and (6) Canary Islands.

References

  • Ahuja, G. (2000). Collaboration networks, structural holes, and innovation: a longitudinal study. Administrative Science Quarterly, 45(3), 425–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almirall, E., & Casadesus-Masanell, R. (2010). Open vs. closed innovation: a model of discovery and divergence. Academy of Management Review, 35(1), 27–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Argote, L., & Greve, H. R. (2007). "A behavioral theory of the firm": 40 years and counting: introduction and impact. Organization Science, 18(3), 337–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arzubiaga, U., Kotlar, J., De Massis, A., & Maseda, A. (2018). Entrepreneurship orientation and innovation in family SMEs: Unveiling the (actual) impact of the board of directors. Journal of Business Venturing, 33(4), 455–469.

  • Astrachan, J. H., & Jaskiewicz, P. (2008). Emotional returns and emotional costs in privately held family businesses: advancing traditional business valuation. Family Business Review, 21(2), 139–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Audia, P. G., & Greve, H. R. (2006). Less likely to fail: low performance, firm size, and factory expansion in the shipbuilding industry. Management Science, 52(1), 83–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Audia, P. G., Locke, E. A., & Smith, K. G. (2000). The paradox of success: an archival and a laboratory study of strategic persistence following radical environmental change. The Academy of Management Journal, 43(5), 837–853.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baum, J. A. C., & Dahlin, K. B. (2007). Aspiration performance and railroads’ patterns of learning from train wrecks and crashes. Organization Science, 18(3), 368–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baum, J. A. C., & Rowley, T. J. (2005). Dancing with strangers: aspiration performance and the search for underwriting syndicate partners. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(4), 536–575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumann, J., & Kritikos, A. S. (2016). The link between R&D, innovation and productivity: are micro firms different? Research Policy, 45(6), 1263–1274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baysinger, B., & Hoskisson, R. E. (1989). Diversification strategy in R&D intensity in multiproduct firms. Academy of Management Journal, 32(2), 310–332.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benner, M. J., & Tushman, M. L. (2002). Process management and technological innovation: a longitudinal study of the photography and paint industries. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47, 676–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benner, M. J., & Tushman, M. L. (2003). Exploitation, exploration, and process management: the productivity dilemma revisited. Academy of Management Review, 28, 238–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Oz, C., & Greve, H. R. (2015). Short- and long-term performance feedback and absorptive capacity. Journal of Management, 41(7), 1827–1853.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Block, J. H. (2012). R&D investments in family and founder firms: an agency perspective. Journal of Business Venturing, 27(2), 248–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Block, J., & Wagner, M. (2014). Ownership versus management effects on corporate social responsibility concerns in large family and founder firms. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 5(4), 339–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolton, M. K. (1993). Organizational innovation and substandard performance: when is necessity the mother of innovation? Organization Science, 4(1), 57–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourgeois, L. J. I. (1981). On the measurement of organizational culture in the foreign public sector. Academy of Management Journal, 6(1), 29–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourgeois, L. J., & Singh, J. V. (1983). Organizational slack and political behavior among top management teams. Academy of Management Proceedings, 43–47.

  • Broekel, T. (2015). Do cooperative research and development (R&D) subsidies stimulate regional innovation efficiency? Evidence from Germany. Regional Studies, 49(7), 1087–1110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bromiley, P. (1991). Testing a causal model of corporate risk taking and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 34(1), 37–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bromiley, P., Miller, K. D., & Rau, D. (2001). Risk in strategic management research. In M. A. Hitt, E. R. Freeman, & J. S. Harrison (Eds.), Handbook of strategic management (pp. 259–289). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Camagni, R., & Capello, R. (2013). Regional innovation patters and the EU regional policy reform: toward smart innovation policies. Growth and Change, 44(2), 355–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campopiano, G., de Massis, A., & Chirico, F. (2014). Firm philanthropy in small- and medium-sized family firms: the effects of family involvement in ownership and management. Family Business Review, 27(3), 244–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casillas, J. C., Moreno, A. M., & Barbero, J. L. (2010). A configurational approach of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and growth of family firms. Family Business Review, 23(1), 27–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaudhuri, S., & Tabrizi, B. (1999). Capturing the real value in high-tech acquisitions. Harvard Business Review, 77(5), 123–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, W. R. (2008). Determinants of firms’ backward- and forward-looking R&D search behavior. Organizacion Science, 19(4), 609–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, H., & Hsu, W.-T. (2009). Family ownership, board independence and R&D investment. Family Business Review, 22(4), 347–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C., Chen, Y., Hsu, P.-H., & Podolski, E. J. (2016). Be nice to your innovators: employee treatment and corporate innovation performance. Journal of Corporate Finance, 39, 78–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiesa, V., & Frattini, F. (2009). Evaluation and performance measurement of research and development: techniques and perspectives for multi-level analysis. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chrisman, J. J., & Patel, P. C. (2012). Variations in R&D investments of family and nonfamily firms: behavioral agency and myopic loss aversion perspectives. Academy of Management Journal, 55(4), 976–997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chrisman, J. J., Chua, J. H., & Litz, R. A. (2003). A unified systems perspective of family firm performance: an extension and integration. Journal of Business Venturing, 18(4), 467–472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chrisman, J. J., Chua, J. H., & Sharma, P. (2005). Trends and directions in the development of a strategic management theory of the family firm. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29(5), 555–575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chrisman, J. J., Chua, J. H., Pearson, A. W., & Barnett, T. (2012). Family involvement, family influence, and family-centered non-economic goals in small firms. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 36(2), 267–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chua, J. H., Chrisman, J. J., & Sharma, P. (1999). Defining the family business by behavior. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 23(4), 19–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Classen, N., Carree, M., Van Gils, A., & Peters, B. (2014). Innovation in family and non-family SMEs: an exploratory analysis. Small Business Economics, 42(3), 595–609.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, W. M., & Klepper, S. (1996). A reprise of size and R & D. The Economic Journal, 106(437), 925–951.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Routledge.

  • Colquitt, J. A., & Zapata-Phelan, C. P. (2007). Trends in theory building and theory testing: a five-decade study of the academy of management journal. Academy of Management Review, 50(6), 1281–1303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig, J. B. L., & Moores, K. (2006). A 10-year longitudinal investigation of strategy, systems, and environment on innovation in family firms. Family Business Review, 19(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Creenhalgh, L. (1983). Organizational decline. In S. Bacharach (Ed.), Research in the sociology of organizations (Vol. 2, pp. 231–276). Greenwich: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cruz-Cázares, C., Bayona-Sáez, C., & García-Marco, T. (2010). R&D strategies and firm innovative performance: a panel data analysis. International Journal of Innovation Management, 14(6), 1013–1045.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cruz-Cázares, C., Bayona-Sáez, C., & García-Marco, T. (2013). You can’t manage right what you can’t measure well: technological innovation efficiency. Research Policy, 42(6–7), 1239–1250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyert, R. M., & March, J. G. (1963). A behavioral theory of the firm. USA: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Aveni, R. A. (1989). The aftermath of organizational decline: a longitudinal study of the strategic and managerial characteristics of declining firms. The Academy of Management Journal, 32(3), 577–605.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniel, F., Lohrke, F. T., Fornaciari, C. J., & Turner, R. A. (2004). Slack resources and firm performance: a meta-analysis. Journal of Business Research, 57(6), 565–574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Massis, A., Frattini, F., & Lichtenthaler, U. (2013). Research on technological innovation in family firms: present debates and future directions. Family Business Review, 26(1), 10–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Massis, A., Frattini, F., Pizzurno, E., & Cassia, L. (2015). Product innovation in family versus nonfamily firms: an exploratory analysis. Journal of Small Business Management, 53(1), 1–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Massis, A., Audretsch, D., Uhlaner, L., & Kammerlander, N. (2017). Innovation with limited resources: management lessons from the German Mittelstand. Journal of Product Innovation Management, (Forthcoming). https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desai, V. (2010). Do organizations have to change to learn? Examining the effects of technological change and learning from failures in the natural gas distribution industry. Industrial and Corporate Change, 19(3), 713–739.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeTienne, D. R., & Chirico, F. (2013). Exit strategies in family firms: how socioemotional wealth drives the threshold of performance. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 37(6), 1297–1318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diéguez-Soto, J., Duréndez, A., García-Pérez-de-Lema, D., & Ruiz-Palomo, D. (2016a). Technological, management, and persistent innovation in small and medium family firms: the influence of professionalism. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences / Revue Canadienne Des Sciences de l’Administration, 33(4), 332–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diéguez-Soto, J., Manzaneque, M., & Rojo-Ramírez, A. A. (2016b). Technological innovation inputs, outputs and performance: the moderating role of family involvement in management. Family Business Review, 29(3), 327–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diéguez-Soto, J., Garrido-Moreno, A., & Manzaneque, M. (2017). Unravelling the link between process innovation inputs and outputs: the moderating role of family management. Journal of Family Business Strategy. (Forthcoming). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2017.11.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duran, P., Kammerlander, N., van Essen, M., & Zellweger, T. M. (2016). Doing more with less: innovation input and output in family firms. Academy of Management Journal, 59(4), 1224–1264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Färnastrand, E., Hjertstrand, P., Norbäck, P.J., Persson, L., & Vasconcelos, H. (2012). Why entrepreneurs choose risky R & D projects—but still not risky enough (IFN Working Paper No. 926).

  • Filser, M., De Massis, A., Gast, J., Kraus, S., & Niemand, T. (2017). Tracing the roots of innovativeness in family SMEs: the effect of family functionality and socioemotional wealth. Journal of Product Innovation Management. (Forthcoming). https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franco, C., Pieri, F., & Venturini, F. (2016). Product market regulation and innovation efficiency. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 45(3), 299–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, C. (1976). Economics of industrial innovation. London: Pinter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuetsch, E., & Suess-Reyes, J. (2017). Research on innovation in family businesses: are we building an ivory tower? Journal of Family Business Management, 7(1), 44–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galende Del Canto, J., & Suárez González, I. (1999). A resource-based analysis of the factors determining a firm’s R&D activities. Research Policy, 28(8), 891–905.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, W., & Chou, J. (2015). Innovation efficiency, global diversification, and firm value. Journal of Corporate Finance, 30, 278–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gavetti, G., Greve, H. R., Levinthal, D. A., & Ocasio, W. (2012). The behavioural theory of the firm. The Academy of Management Annals, 6(1), 1–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George, G. (2005). Slack resources and the performance of privately held firms. Academy of Management Journal, 48(4), 661–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geroski, P. A. (1998). An applied econometrician’s view of large company performance. Review of Industrial Organization, 13(3), 271–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gesing, J., Antons, D., Piening, E. P., Rese, M., & Salge, T. O. (2015). Joining forces or going it alone? On the interplay among external collaboration partner types, interfirm governance modes, and internal R&D. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 32(3), 424–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giachetti, C., & Lampel, J. (2010). Keeping both eyes on the competition: strategic adjustment to multiple targets in the UK mobile phone industry. Strategic Organization, 8(4), 2010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Mejia, L. R., Haynes, K. T., Núñez Nickel, M., Jacobson, K. J. L., & Moyano Fuentes, J. (2007). Socioemotional wealth and business risks in family-controlled firms: evidence from Spanish olive oil mills. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52(1), 106–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Mejia, L. R., Makri, M., & Kintana, M. L. (2010). Diversification decisions in family-controlled firms. Journal of Management Studies, 47(2), 223–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Mejia, L. R., Patel, P. C., & Zellweger, T. M. (2015). In the horns of the dilemma: socioemotional wealth, financial wealth, and acquisitions in family firms. Journal of Management, (Forthcoming), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206315614375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greco, M., Grimaldi, M., & Cricelli, L. (2017). Hitting the nail on the head: exploring the relationship between public subsidies and open innovation efficiency. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 118, 213–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greve, H. R. (2003a). A behavioral theory of R&D expenditures and innovations: evidence from shipbuilding. The Academy of Management Journal, 46(6), 685–702.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greve, H. R. (2003b). Organizational learning from performance feedback. a behavioral perspective on innovation and change (first). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Greve, H. R. (2011). Fast and expensive: the diffusion of a disappointing innovation. Strategic Management Journal, 32(9), 949–968.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo, B., Wang, Y., Xie, X., & Shou, Y. (2015). Search more deeply or search more broadly? An empirical study of external knowledge search strategy in manufacturing SMEs. Asian Journal of Technology Innovation, 23(1), 87–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis. International Journal of Pharmaceutics (vol. 1). New Jork: Pearson Education.

  • Hall, B. H., Mairesse, J., & Mohnen, P. (2010). Measuring the returns to R&D. In B. H. Hall & N. Rosenberg (Eds.), Handbook of the economics of innovation (Vol. II, pp. 1033–1082). Elsevier.

  • Hambrick, D. C., & Mason, P. A. (1984). Upper echelons: the organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 193–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayton, J. C., George, G., & Zahra, S. A. (2002). National culture and entrepreneurship: a review of behavioral research. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 26(4), 33–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayton, J., Chandler, G. N., & DeTienne, D. R. (2011). Entrepreneurial opportunity identification and new firm development processes: a comparison of family and non-family new ventures. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 13(1), 12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hong, J., Feng, B., Wu, Y., & Wang, L. (2016). Do government grants promote innovation efficiency in China’s high-tech industries? Technovation, 57–58, 4–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • House, R., Rousseau, D. M., & Thomas-Hunt, M. (1995). The meso paradigm: a framework for the integration of micro and macro organizational behavior. In L. Cummings & B. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizations (pp. 71–114). Greenwich: JAI press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iyer, D. N., & Miller, K. D. (2008). Performance feedback, slack, and the timing of acquisitions. Academy of Management Journal, 51(4), 808–822.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jansen, J. J., Van Den Bosch, F. A., & Volberda, H. W. (2005). Managing potential and realized absorptive capacity: how do organizational antecedents matter? Academy of Management Journal, 48(6), 999–1015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jung, J., & Bansal, P. (2009). How firm performance affects internationalization. Management International Review, 49(6), 709–732.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kancs, d.’ A., & Siliverstovs, B. (2016). R&D and non-linear productivity growth. Research Policy, 45(3), 634–646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, L. (1998). Crisis construction and organizational learning: capability building in catching-up at Hyundai motor. Organization Science, 9(4), 506–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotlar, J., De Massis, A., Frattini, F., Bianchi, M., & Fang, H. (2013). Technology acquisition in family and nonfamily firms: a longitudinal analysis of Spanish manufacturing firms. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 30(6), 1073–1088.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotlar, J., De Massis, A., Fang, H., & Frattini, F. (2014a). Strategic reference points in family firms. Small Business Economics, 43(3), 597–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotlar, J., Fang, H., De Massis, A., & Frattini, F. (2014b). Profitability goals, control goals, and the R&D investment decisions of family and nonfamily firms. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 31(6), 1128–1145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane, P. J., Koka, B. R., & Seemantini, P. (2006). The reification of absorptive capacity: a critical review and rejuvenation of the construct. Academy of Management Review, 31(4), 833–863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lant, T. K. (1992). Aspiration level adaptation: an empirical exploration. Management Science, 38(5), 623–644.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavie, D., Stettner, U., & Tushman, M. L. (2010). Exploration and exploitation within and across organizations. Academy Management Annual, 4(1), 109–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinthal, D. A. (1991). Random walks and organizational mortality. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36(3), 397–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinthal, D., & March, J. G. (1981). A model of adaptive organizational search. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2(4), 307–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinthal, D. A., & March, J. G. (1993). The myopia of learning. Strategic Management Journal, 14, 95–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levitt, B., & March, J. G. (1988). Organizational learning. Annual Review of Sociology, 14(1), 319–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Z., & Daspit, J. J. (2016). Understanding family firm innovation heterogeneity. Journal of Family Business Management, 6(2), 103–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, Q., Li, X., Yang, X., Lin, D., & Zheng, D. (2013). How does family involvement affect innovation in China? Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 30(3), 677–695.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Llach, J., & Nordqvist, M. (2010). Innovation in family and non-family businesses: a resource perspective. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2(3), 381–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lubatkin, M. H., Schulze, W. S., Ling, Y., & Dino, R. N. (2005). The effects of parental altruism on the governance of family-managed firms. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(3), 313–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mangena, M., & Chamisa, E. (2008). Corporate governance and incidences of listing suspension by the JSE securities exchange of South Africa: an empirical analysis. The International Journal of Accounting, 43, 28–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield, E. (1961). Technical change and the rate of imitation. Econometrica, 29(4), 741–766.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manzaneque, M., Ramírez, Y., & Diéguez-Soto, J. (2017). Intellectual capital efficiency, technological innovation and family management. Innovation: Management, Policy and Practice, 19(2), 167–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organizacion Science, 2(1), 71–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marlin, D., & Geiger, S. W. (2015). The organizational slack and performance relationship: a configurational approach. Management Decision, 53(10), 2339–2355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Romero, M. J., & Rojo-Ramírez, A. A. (2016). SEW: temporal trajectory and controversial issues. European Journal of Family Business, 6(1), 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Romero, M. J., & Rojo-Ramírez, A. A. (2017). Socioemotional wealth’s implications in the calculus of the minimum rate of return required by family businesses’ owners. Review of Managerial Science, 11(1), 95–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazzelli, A., Kotlar, J., & De Massis, A. (2018). Blending in while standing out: Slective conformity and new product introduction in family firms. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 42(2), 206–230.

  • Miller, D., & Chen, M. (1994). Sources and consequences of competitive inertia: a study of the U.S. airline industry. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39(1), 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munari, F., Oriani, R., & Sobrero, M. (2010). The effects of owner identity and external governance systems on R&D investments: a study of western European firms. Research Policy, 39(8), 1093–1104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nohria, N., & Gulati, R. (1996). Is slack good or bad for innovation? Academy of Management Journal, 39(5), 1245–1264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, J. P. (2003). The capital structure implications of pursuing a strategy of innovation. Strategic Management Journal, 24(5), 415–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parida, V., & Örtqvist, D. (2015). Interactive effects of network capability, ICT capability, and financial slack on technology-based small firm innovation performance. Journal of Small Business Management, 53(S1), 278–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patel, P. C., & Chrisman, J. J. (2014). Risk abatement as a strategy for R&D investments in family firms. Strategic Management Journal, 35(4), 617–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patel, P. C., & Fiet, J. O. (2011). Knowledge combination and the potential advantages of family firms in searching for opportunities. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 35(6), 1179–1197.

    Google Scholar 

  • Payne, J., Laughhunn, D., & Crum, R. (1980). Translation of gambles and aspiration level effects in risky choice behavior. Management Science, 26(10), 1039–1060.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pittino, D., Visintin, F., Bau’, M., & Mazzurana, P. (2013). Collaborative technology strategies and innovation in family firms. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 17(1/2/3), 8–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qiao, P., & Fung, A. (2016). How does CEO power affect innovation efficiency? The Chinese Economy, 49(4), 231–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qin, X., & Du, D. (2017). Do external or internal technology spillovers have a stronger influence on innovation efficiency in China? Sustainability, 9(9), 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raymond, W., Mohnen, P., Palm, F., & van Der Loeff, S. S. (2010). Persistence of innovation in Dutch manufacturing: is it spurious? The Review of Economics and Statistics, 92(3), 495–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rojo Ramírez, A. A., & Martínez Romero, M. J. (2017). Required and obtained equity returns in privately held businesses: the impact of family nature—evidence before and after the global economic crisis. Review of Managerial Science, (Forthcoming), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-017-0230-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, I. (1977). Universities in stress: decision making under conditions of reduced resources. Social Science Quarterly, 58(2), 242–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salge, T. O. (2011). A behavioral model of innovative search: evidence from public hospital services. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 21(1), 181–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salge, T. O., & Vera, A. (2013). Small steps that matter: incremental learning, slack resources and organizational performance. British Journal of Management, 24(2), 156–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samara, G., Jamali, D., Sierra, V., & Parada, M. J. (2017). Who are the best performers? The environmental social performance of family firms. Journal of Family Business Strategy, (Forthcoming), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2017.11.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmid, T., Achleitner, A.-K., Ampenberger, M., & Kaserer, C. (2014). Family firms and R&D behavior – New evidence from a large-scale survey. Research Policy, 43(1), 233–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sciascia, S., Nordqvist, M., Mazzola, P., & De Massis, A. (2015). Family ownership and R&D intensity in small- and medium-sized firms. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 32(3), 349–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, P., & Salvato, C. (2011). Commentary: exploiting and exploring new opportunities over life cycle stages of family firms. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(6), 1199–1205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shimizu, K. (2007). Prospect theory, behavioral theory, and the threat-rigidity thesis: combinative effects on organizational decisions to divest formerly acquired units problemstellung grundidee hypothesen. Academy of Management Journal, 50(6), 1495–1514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, J. V. (1986). Performance, slack, and risk-taking in organizational decision making. Academy of Management, 29(3), 562–585.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sirmon, D. G., Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Gilbert, B. A. (2011). Resource orchestration to create competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 37(5), 1390–1412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sitkin, S. B., & Pablo, A. L. (1992). Reconceptualizing the determinants of risk behavior. Academy of Management Review, 17(1), 9–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song, M., Benedetto, A. D., & Nason, R. W. (2007). Capabilities and financial performance: the moderating effect of strategic type. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 35(1), 18–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sorenson, O. (2003). Social networks and industrial geography. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 13(5), 513–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Utterback, J. M., & Abernathy, W. J. (1975). A dynamic model of process and product innovation. Omega, 3(6), 639–656.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanacker, T., Collewaert, V., & Zahra, S. A. (2016). Slack resources, firm performance, and the institutional context: evidence from privately held European firms. Strategic Management Journal, 38(6), 1305–1326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandekerkhof, P., Steijvers, T., Hendriks, W., & Voordeckers, W. (2015). The effect of organizational characteristics on the appointment of nonfamily managers in private family firms: the moderating role of socioemotional wealth. Family Business Review, 28(2), 104–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vissa, B., Greve, H. R., & Chen, W. (2010). Business group affiliation and firm search behavior in India: responsiveness and focus of attention. Organizacion Science, 21(3), 696–712.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voss, G., Sirdeshmukh, D., & Voss, Z. G. (2008). The effects of slack resources and environmental threat on product exploration and exploitation. The Academy of Management Journal, 51(1), 147–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wadhwa, A., & Kotha, S. (2006). Knowledge creation through external venturing: evidence from the telecommunications equipment manufacturing industry. Academy of Management Journal, 49(4), 819–835.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, S., Fan, J., Zhao, D., & Wang, S. (2016). Regional innovation environment and innovation efficiency: the Chinese case. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 28(4), 396–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y., Guo, B., & Yin, Y. (2017). Open innovation search in manufacturing firms: the role of organizational slack and absorptive capacity. Journal of Knowledge Management, 21(3), 656–674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winter, S. G. (2000). The satisficing principle in capability learning. Strategic Management Journal, 21(10), 981–996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, K. P., Chou, C., & Chiu, Y. J. (2014). How unlearning affects radical innovation: the dynamics of social capital and slack resources. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 87, 152–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeh-Yun Lin, C., & Yi-Ching Chen, M. (2007). Does innovation lead to performance? An empirical study of SMEs in Taiwan. Management Research News, 30(2), 115–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahra, S. A., & George, G. (2002). Absorptive capacity: a review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review, 27(2), 185–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zellweger, T. M., & Astrachan, J. H. (2008). On the emotional value of owning a firm. Family Business Review, 21(4), 347–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zona, F. (2012). Corporate investing as a response to economic downturn: prospect theory, the behavioural agency model and the role of financial slack. British Journal of Management, 23(S1), 42–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Avda. de los Alfares, 44, 16071, Cuenca, Spain

    Montserrat Manzaneque

  2. Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences, University of Almería, La Cañada de San Urbano s/n, 04120, Almería, Spain

    Alfonso A. Rojo-Ramírez & Maria J. Martínez-Romero

  3. Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences, University of Málaga, El Ejido s/n, 29071, Málaga, Spain

    Julio Diéguez-Soto

Authors
  1. Montserrat Manzaneque
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alfonso A. Rojo-Ramírez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Julio Diéguez-Soto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Maria J. Martínez-Romero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Montserrat Manzaneque.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Manzaneque, M., Rojo-Ramírez, A.A., Diéguez-Soto, J. et al. How negative aspiration performance gaps affect innovation efficiency. Small Bus Econ 54, 209–233 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-0091-8

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-0091-8

Keywords

JEL classifications

Search

Navigation