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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore to what extent different obstacles (financial, knowledge, market, and perception) affect the propensity of Mexican family firms to engage in innovation activity. Second, it examines whether the perception of these obstacles differs between two subgroups of family firms, considering levels of ownership and family management control.Design/methodology/approachInformation was gathered through a CIS methodology-based questionnaire applied to 161 CEOs of Mexican family firms. Binomial logistic regressions were performed identifying obstacles that were truly relevant for the family firm subgroups in the sample.FindingsFor subgroup 1, knowledge and market factors were significant and negatively related to the propensity to engage in innovation activities; for subgroup 2, only market factors were relevant. The results also show how the tenure of the CEO, the number of generations involved, and the family involvement in management and non-management positions affect the results obtained.Practical implicationsImplications for family business scholars embrace the assessment criteria of different family business definitions. While the implications for managers and policy makers include the recognition of the factors that affect innovation in Mexican family firms in order to design and implement adequate strategies to overcome them.Originality/valueThis study addresses some of the raised demands in the literature. First, to the best of the authors' knowledge, it is the first attempt to explore the factors hampering innovation in family firms in Latin America. Second, this study was undertaken in response to the call for exploring variations in innovation behavior across different family business types in regards to ownership and family management control. Moreover, this study responds to the call to analyze financial and non-financial factors separately and to expand the geographical areas, sectors, and sizes of family firms, more specifically in Latin America.

The assessment of the university and family social environments is relevant due to the influence during the individual's formative years, effecting the individual's development, career and occupational preferences. In an attempt to deepen the understanding of social capital, the authors proposed an examination of its dimensionality. Hypotheses were formulated building upon three dimensions—cognitive, structural, and relational—embedded in both contexts as determinants of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intention. Implications are discussed promoting an appropriate social capital dimension and favorable environment for individuals to access information, resources, and support, with the purpose to foster and motivate their entrepreneurial spirit. Structural equation modeling was used considering 399 undergraduate students from universities in Mexico and Spain.