Tradition and innovation: The resistance to change of small family retail businesses

Abstract

Resistance to change is one of the main challenges faced by family businesses in the innovation process. This study aimed to investigate the aspects that influence the resistance to change in the innovation processes of small family businesses in retail, using as a basis the dimensions of the Innovation Radar and recent studies on innovation in family businesses. The research was carried out with family businesses in the Metropolitan Region of Recife - PE. The results obtained through the Innovation Radar revealed areas of greater and lesser resistance to changes in the innovation process, reflecting the specific dynamics of these organizations. Despite the evolution observed in all dimensions of the Innovation Radar between Radar 0 and Radar 1, the companies together did not reach the level of occasional or occasional innovative organizations. The efforts leveraged during the course of the Program to break the paradigm of resistance to change could develop positive consequences with regard to the opening of the business culture to the innovation process. The study highlights the importance of an integrated and continuous approach in the innovation process, considering the particularities of family businesses and the challenges inherent in resistance to change. The information collected can support the planning of new efforts for the implementation of the innovation process in companies of this profile, consolidating strategic efforts in points of greater resistance to change.