Family firm density and regional innovation output: An exploratory analysis

• Family firm's long-term orientation is argued to support regional R&D cooperation.
• Family firm's local roots are argued to support regional R&D cooperation.
• Regions with higher family firm density show higher levels of innovation output.
• Regional family firm density enhances regional patent output.

Family firm's long-term orientation and strong local roots suggest positive effects on regional R&D cooperation and regional innovation output. This article analyzes the effect of family firm density on regional innovation output. Combining a dataset of 326 German regions with the locations of 526 medium- to large-scale family firms in innovative industries, our regressions show that regions with a higher family firm density also show higher levels of innovation output, as measured by the number of successful patent applications. The implications of these findings for family firms and regional policy are discussed.