Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

5-2018

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph. D.

Department

Entrepreneurship

Degree Program

Entrepreneurship, PhD

Committee Chair

Ahuja, Manju

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Kemelgor, Bruce

Committee Member

Kemelgor, Bruce

Committee Member

Goyal, Sandeep

Committee Member

Shepherd, Dean

Author's Keywords

family business; social capital; innovation; small business management; entrepreneurship; process macro

Abstract

One important form of social capital is family social capital, which is mainly the relationship among family members in family business. In this dissertation, we utilize two perspectives of innovativeness and network mobilization to study the relationship between family social capital and firm performance. In the first study, we examine family social capital as a multidimensional construct, and study the relationship between the three aspects of structural, cognitive, and relational family social capital. The relationship between relational social capital and performance is studied through the lens of network mobilization, and the model investigates how family firm identity alters this relationship, and the relationship between structural and cognitive social capital. In the second study, we examine the relationship between family social capital and performance through an innovativeness perspective. Also, environmental munificence and family involvement are predicted to respectively moderate the relationship between innovativeness and firm performance, and the relationship between family social capital and firm performance. Analyzing a sample of 267 small private US family firms, strong support was found for our hypotheses. We find that structural family social capital and cognitive family social capital have a positive relationship with relational family social capital. Also as predicted, network mobilization is shown to mediate the relationship between relational social capital and firm performance. Further, family firm identity is shown to positively moderate the relationship between structural social capital and cognitive social capital, and also the relationship between relational social capital and network mobilization. Results of study 2 indicate that family social capital is positively related to firm performance, and innovativeness positively mediates this relationship. Further, in this study, environmental munificence is shown to positively moderate the relationship between innovativeness and firm performance. This dissertation has several theoretical, practical, and methodological implications. It expands our understanding of the importance of network mobilization and innovativeness in family firm’s success. It helps family business owners and managers to recognize the importance of environment and family variables. This dissertation offers new insights for the family social capital literature and highlights the importance of studying the effect of family social capital on performance through different perspectives.

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