The Reciprocal Relationship of Innovation Capabilities and Socioemotional Wealth in a Family Firm

This paper deals with entrepreneurship in family firms by researching how technology-based innovation capabilities influence the socioemotional dimensions of the owning family and vice versa. In combination with dynamic capabilities, the socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspective offers a framework that enables an investigation of the nature of innovation capabilities in family firms. Studying a single firm, we identify a positive reciprocal relationship between innovation capabilities and SEW. We find that this reciprocal relationship within the family business presents itself in a synergistic fashion, yielding synergies between financial wealth and SEW. The findings contribute to the literature on entrepreneurship and innovation in family businesses.