Internationalization strategies of family firms
The project here proposed is aimed at investigating the internationalization strategies of family firms. In particular, it is intended to study how and to what extent the modes and dynamics of foreign market entry may be influenced by the familiness. The research will analyse the patterns of investments into foreign markets by family firms in order to find out i) how they compare to their non-family peers and ii) how heterogeneity among family firms explains internationalization strategy implementation.
The large economic relevance of family firms calls for a greater effort in studying their growth strategies, in order to deepen our understanding of how different factors at the firm level impact strategy choices and thus provide useful policy recommendations for those who are in charge of strengthening the competitiveness of domestic firms.
The research will provide both theoretical and empirical contributions. By relying on behavioural interpretations of families¿ decision-making processes and the socio-emotional wealth (SEW) approach ([1]; [2]) the contributors will theoretically predict how family firms differ from non-family firms and among them in the dynamics of international expansion.
To test the research hypotheses coming from the theoretical framework, a sample of Italian firms followed up from 2000 to 2016 will be used. Empirical analyses will be carried out through econometric techniques.
By jointly looking at investments, divestiture and re-investment decisions, we would be able to go deeper into the factors explaining the dynamics of the international expansion of family firms and add a new perspective through which we can look at the impact of familiness on firms¿ strategies.