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The ability of family firms to identify and respond to changes in their external environments can be a key source of competitive advantage leading to success and survival. Some research, however, has suggested family firms are conservative and often lack the ability to adapt to their changing competitive environments. Using data from 248 family firms, we found a family firm's culture of commitment to the business is positively associated with its strategic flexibility—the ability to pursue new opportunities and respond to threats in the competitive environment. Further, we found stewardship-oriented organizational culture positively moderated the family commitment-strategic flexibility relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intellectual capital (IC) offers a potential source of sustainable competitive advantage and is believed to be the font from which technological development and economic growth may spring. This study proposes a three-dimensional framework for describing and measuring a firm's IC that includes human capital, intellectual property, and reputational capital. Drawing upon the resource-based view of the firm, it is argued that in high-technology new ventures (HTNVs) IC assets offer a unique source of advantage that facilitates entrepreneurship by reducing the risk and increasing the returns from investments in innovation and venturing. This paper reports the results of an empirical study of 237 HTNVs in the US that issued an initial public offering between 1994 and 1998. It is found that these firms' top management team human capital diversity and organizational reputation are of greatest significance for their entrepreneurial performance. Interestingly, these factors far outweigh the insignificant effect observed for intellectual property on subsequent innovation and venturing activities. The implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational culture is an important strategic resource that family firms can use to gain a competitive advantage. Drawing upon the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, this study examines the association between four dimensions of organizational culture in family vs. non-family businesses and entrepreneurship. Using data from 536 U.S. manufacturing companies, the results show a nonlinear association between the cultural dimension of individualism and entrepreneurship. Further, there are positive linear relationships between entrepreneurship and an external orientation, an organizational cultural orientation toward decentralization, and a long- versus short-term orientation. With the exception of an external orientation, each of these dimensions is significantly more influential upon entrepreneurship in family firms when compared with non-family firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]