Blending In While Standing Out: Selective Conformity and New Product Introduction in Family Firms
研究了西班牙制造业家族企业如何在趋同与差异化之间权衡，发现家族企业为规避社会损失而向最相似同行趋同，非家族企业则为追求社会收益而向不同企业趋同。
Research on the conformity-distinctiveness trade-off in family firms is divided. Examining the product innovations of Spanish manufacturing firms between 1998 and 2012, we hypothesize that family and nonfamily firms conform selectively and are driven by different motivations. Family firms align with their closest peers to avoid social losses while nonfamily firms conform to firms with different attributes to pursue social gains. Moreover, propensity to conform leads to more substantive organizational responses in family firms. We contribute to understanding how family firms navigate the conformity-distinctiveness trade-off, unveil the cognitive dimension of conformity, and address the puzzling evidence on family firm innovation.