Patents, family, and size: evidence from Italian manufacturing firms

This study explores whether the probability to patent differs between family and non-family firms, and whether any potential difference between firm-type is moderated by size. The analysis is based on a large archive of patenting activities (Orbis–PATSTAT dataset) carried out by around 3700 Italian manufacturing firms over the 2010–2017 period. The results from a random effect probit model show that family firms patent less than non-family firms (the estimated average marginal effect of family ownership ranges from −0.055 to −0.032 according to model specification). Furthermore, the size effect is positive in every model, suggesting that the probability of patenting increases with size. While it is demonstrated that family firms remain less likely to patent than non family firms, we also show that their disadvantages increase as they grow in size: in large firms, the probability of patenting is 0.22 for family firms and 0.39 for non-family firms. Importantly, the results hold when considering patent counts, citations and a number of additional sensitivity tests.