Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/319899 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 25-029
Publisher: 
ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, Mannheim
Abstract: 
We investigate whether family ownership is associated with a preference for patents or trade secrets. Using a sample of S&P 500 firms, we show that family ownership is negatively associated with patenting and positively associated with the usage of trade secrets. We further show that both relationships are moderated by firm performance below the aspiration level, i.e. the performance benchmark level that an organization sets. These results can be explained with a mixed gambles behavioral agency framework. When family firms perform below their aspiration level, prospective financial gains become relatively more important as compared to current socioemotional wealth so that patents become more and trade secrets less attractive.
Subjects: 
Family firms
patents
trade secrets
mixed gambles
aspiration gap
JEL: 
O34
O32
G32
M14
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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