Uganda Pentecostal University Logo

Innovation Among Family Business, A Strategic tool for Entrepreneurial Performance

Innovation in Family Businesses

Authors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69612/upujsd-0001
Keywords:
Array, Array, Array, Array, Array, Array
Abstract

Using Schumpeter’s theory of innovation, which situates innovation as a driver of economic change, this study investigated the influence of innovation among family businesses as a driver for entrepreneurial performance in the Kabarole District in Uganda. Traditionally, innovation became popular after WWII, associated with technological development and competitive advantage. Kabarole and Uganda at large have traced entrepreneurial changes since the 1980s to better the integration into markets for local goods, but the reliance on outside processed items has limited innovation and expansion for the family businesses in Kabarole. Using a statistically based design, 70 registered sole enterprises were examined using regression to observe the association between innovation (in terms of product innovation, process innovation, and strategic management) and entrepreneurial performance. The results showed significantly positive associations for product development (β = 0.325, p = 0.002), process management (β = 0.212, p = 0.025), and strategic management (β = 0.475, p < 0.001), among which the strongest influence came from strategic management. The model accounted for 67.3% of variance in performance (R² = 0.673), clearly demonstrating the key driving force as innovation. Results were consistent with Schumpeterian principles that stress strategic decision-making as crucial to growth. While the global perspective demonstrates innovation's correlation to market share and competitiveness, Kabarole's dependence on foreign products shows a localized divide. The research highlights the importance of localizing innovation-driven policies to improve entrepreneurial results and recommends policies that promote ingenuity and managerial talent within family firms. This will help advance the debate regarding the appropriateness of innovation in developing economies, underscoring its universality and compelling regions to look inward.

References

Acs, Z. J. (2013). Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Why Philanthropy Matters. https://doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691148625.003.0003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691148625.003.0003

Balunywa, W., Rosa, P., & Nandagire, D. N. (2013). 50 YEARS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN UGANDA, TEN YEARS OF THE UGANDAN GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP MONITOR. Blog Post. http://waswa-balunywa.blogspot.com/2013/12/50-years-of-entrepreneurship-in-uganda.html

Baregheh, A., Rowley, J., & Sambrook, S. (2009). Towards a multidisciplinary definition of innovation. Management Decision, 47(8), 1323–1339. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740910984578 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740910984578

Canh, N. T., Liem, N. T., Thu, P. A., & Khuong, N. V. (2019). The impact of innovation on the firm performance and corporate social responsibility of Vietnamese manufacturing firms. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(13). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133666 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133666

Godin, B. (2019). The invention of technological innovation : languages, discourses and ideology in historical perspective. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1125747489 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789903348

GUNDAY, G., ULUSOY, G., KILIC, K., & Lutfihak, A. (2020). Effects of Innovation on the Firm Performance. Technological Innovation, 101, 281–298. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789811211461_0009 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/9789811211461_0009

Karabulut, A. T. (2015). Effects of Innovation Types on Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Turkey. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 195, 1355–1364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.322 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.322

Olu, D. O., Marius, P., Anca, G. P., & Florentina, R. B. (2017). Impact of innovation on the entrepreneurial success: Evidence from Nigeria. African Journal of Business Management, 11(12), 261–265. https://doi.org/10.5897/ajbm2017.8277 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5897/AJBM2017.8277

Rosli, M. M., & Sidek, S. (2013). The Impact of Innovation on the Performance of Small and Medium Manufacturing Enterprises: Evidence from Malaysia. Journal of Innovation Management in Small & Medium Enterprise, 2013, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.5171/2013.885666 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5171/2013.885666

Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The Theory of Economic Development. An Inquiry into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest, and Business Cycle. Transaction Publishers, 51(4), 654–655. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2017.1278975

Seth, S. (2021, January 4). Why Entrepreneurship Is Important to the Economy. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/101414/why-entrepreneurs-are-important-economy.asp

Śledzik, K. (2013). Schumpeter ’ S View on Innovation and. SSRN Electronic Journal, April 2013, 89–94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2257783

Downloads
Published
2025-03-16
Issue
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2025): 2024 Call for Papers: Ugandan Pentecostal University Journal of Sustainable Development
Section
Article
License

Copyright (c) 2025 Author & Uganda Pentecostal University Journal of Sustainable Development

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Uganda Pentecostal University Journal of Sustainable Development (UPUJSD) is an open-access academic journal that provides a platform for research and discussion on various dimensions of sustainable development. The journal covers topics including but not limited to:

  • Sustainable agriculture and food security
  • Sustainable development and artificial intelligence
  • Renewable energy and environmental sustainability
  • Community development and social entrepreneurship
  • Climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies
  • Sustainable urban planning and infrastructure development
  • Gender equality and social inclusion in sustainable development initiatives
  • Sustainable development and the law
  • Aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

All content published in UPUJSD is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Under this license:

  1. Attribution: Authors and publishers must be credited when the work is shared or cited.
  2. Non-Commercial: The material may not be used for commercial purposes.
  3. No Derivatives: If the material is remixed, transformed, or built upon, the modified material may not be distributed.

The license aims to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration while protecting the authors' original works.

For further details on the licensing terms or submission guidelines, contact us at:

How to Cite

Innovation Among Family Business, A Strategic tool for Entrepreneurial Performance: Innovation in Family Businesses. (2025). Uganda Pentecostal University Journal of Sustainable Development, 1(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.69612/upujsd-0001

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.