Work-family Initiatives and Innovation in Family and non-Family SMEs: Time to Explore the Missing Links?

The work-family initiatives (WFIs) have been attracting the attention of the companies and that of academia for few decades. They have been associated with effects like job satisfaction, organizational commitment, work motivation as well as improved performance or improved shareholder returns. However, recent works highlight that the link between WFI and innovation has received scant attention. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between WFIs and innovation in SMEs. Additionally, we explore whether and how family SMEs behave differently from non-family SMEs within the family SMEs subsample. Based on survey-based data from manufacturing SMEs in the Bergamo region, we find that the relationship between WFIs and innovation is positive when the extent of adoption and type of initiative is considered. The family business appeared to have a significant moderation effect on the relationship between WFIs and innovation.