Resumen:
Given the fact that family firms are the backbone of many economies around the world, it is of
interest to analyze their cooperation behavior concerning innovation. For this reason, the aim of this
paper is to study whether differences exist between these types of businesses and their non-family
counterparts when making decisions about developing technological alliances with different external
partners. Particularly, three main research objectives are suggested: Firstly, to identify if there are
significant differences between family and non-family firms when developing technological
innovation, distinguishing between product and process innovation. Secondly, to identify if there are
major differences between family and non-family firms when setting up technological alliances.
Thirdly, to analyze if technological alliances in family firms depend on the chosen partner (suppliers,
customers, competitors, and universities or research institutes). The empirical research has been
conducted with a sample of 1,848 firms of the manufacturing sector in Spain, of which 828 are
family firms. Results show important differences between family and non-family firms in relation to
technological coope...