Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate innovation practice of small family firms. Top management teams’ styles, their strategic orientations, and perceptions of external environment promote or deter innovation. Design/methodology/approach Ten Tuscan and ten Californian family wineries are investigated via questionnaire and in‐person interviews to develop longitudinal case studies describing barriers or incentives to innovate. Findings Changes in processes, products, or market orientations are subordinated to how top managers perceive internal and external pressure to implement innovation. Originality/value This exploratory research proposes a model depicting the extent to which location impacts the selected variables.
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