Competitiveness of family owned enterprises - Evidence from Hungarian firms

Absztrakt (kivonat)

Using a survey-based dataset by the Competitiveness Research Centre (CRC) this study attempts to compare the competitiveness of family and non-family enterprises and tries to investigate how the lack of innovation and the ill-preparedness for digital transformation affect the differences in competitiveness. First, OLS regression models are used on the whole dataset, then, using propensity score matching the same models are applied on the matched data. The results indicate that while innovation and digitalization significantly affect the competitiveness of family businesses, the ownership-based differences disappear when regressed on the matched data. According to the results of this paper, Hungarian policy makers should promote R&D activities, help firms to prepare for the challenges of the digital economy and allocate additional resources to sectors and regions that perform poorly to address competitiveness related problems.