Family CEO affect and R&D investments of family firms: The moderation effect of family ownership structure

Abstract

The last decades have seen increasing interest in the determinants of heterogeneity in family firm innovation. In this study, we respond to recent calls to address the micro-level mechanisms behind innovation in family firms. Specifically, we analyze the effect of family CEO affect, namely positive and negative affective traits, on the R&D investment decisions of family firms. We also analyze the moderating effect of family ownership structure on the influence of CEO affect on these strategic decisions. Consistent with affect maintenance arguments, our findings of a sample of 142 Spanish family firms show that positive family CEO affect negatively influences the R&D investments of family firms, while negative affect positively influences these investments. The results also show that family CEO ownership and family CEO branch ownership strengthen the effects of family CEO affect on R&D investments, whereas ownership concentration in other family branches weakens these effects.