Family firms’ approach to green innovation: an exploratory study among Italian SMEs

Despite the growing scholar attention towards green innovation, on the one hand, and family firms, on the other hand, there is still limited attention toward the intersection of these two streams of literature, since very few studies deal with green innovation in family firms. This paper aims at shedding light on the peculiarities of family firms in their approach to green innovation. To this aim, a multiple case studies methodology was used to understand whether and to what extent family firms and non-family firms differ in their approach to green innovation. In particular, a convenience sample of four small-medium enterprises (SMEs) (two family firms and two non-family firms) operating in the food industry and located in Italy was selected. Results suggest that family firms differ from non-family firms in five key areas: firm’s motivations, stakeholders’ most relevant pressures (internal vs external), green innovation as opportunity or necessity, type of innovation (product/process), and networking.