Internationalization pathways among family-owned SMEs
Kontinen, T., & Ojala, A. (2012). Internationalization pathways among family-owned SMEs. International Marketing Review, 29(5), 496 - 518. https://doi.org/10.1108/02651331211260359
Published in
International Marketing ReviewDate
2012Copyright
© Emerald. This is an author's final draft version of an article whose final and definitive version has been published in the journal 'International Marketing Review' by Emerald.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the internationalization of family firms; to investigate how the framework by Bell et al. on the internationalization patterns of firms could explain the internationalization pathways taken by family-owned small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and to identify typical patterns and features in the various pathways taken by family-owned SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper reports findings from an in-depth multiple case study with eight Finnish family-owned SMEs.
Findings: The ownership structure had the most important role in defining the internationalization pathways followed by the family-owned SMEs: a fragmented ownership structure led to traditional internationalization pathway whereas a concentrated ownership base led to born global or born-again global pathways.
Practical implications: Family entrepreneurs should carefully consider the division of ownership and seek to build new relationships in foreign markets, in addition to their primary co-operators.
Originality/value: The authors extend the integrative model of small firm internationalization by Bell et al. toward family-owned SMEs and highlight the most important dimensions in the different internationalization pathways of family SMEs. The ownership dimension is integrated within discussion on differing internationalization pathways. The authors utilize a family business specific perspective (the stewardship perspective), in order to understand the specific features of internationalization among family SMEs, and also how these features differ between family SMEs and other firms.
...
Publisher
Emerald Group PublishingISSN Search the Publication Forum
0265-1335Keywords
Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/21596753
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
- Informaatioteknologian tiedekunta [2257]
- Kauppakorkeakoulu [1343]
Related items
Showing items with similar title or keywords.
-
Internalization of Finnish small- and medium-sized enterprises providing professional services to Russia
Salii, Elena (2019)The topic of this master‟s thesis is the entry of small- and medium-sized Finnish companies providing professional services, to the Russian market. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the vital part of Finnish ... -
International Strategic Alliances and the Internationalization Process: The Family Ownership Effect
Sist, Federica (Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, 2010)This study examines whether the ownership structure of Italian firms affects the internationalization process of firms that completed equity international strategic alliances (EISA). This paper provides a comparison of the ... -
International opportunity recognition among small and medium-sized family firms
Kontinen, Tanja; Ojala, Arto (The Sheridan Press, 2011)Current research in the field of entrepreneurship emphasizes the importance of opportunity recognition as a key element in the entrepreneurial process. It has been recognized that network ties, activeness and alertness, ... -
International performance of Finnish information technology SMEs
Päivinen, Sini (2019)Globalisaatio ja markkinoiden kehittyminen ovat kiristäneet yritysten välistä kilpailua kannustaen pieniä ja keskisuuria yrityksiä laajentamaan liiketoimintaansa kansainvälisesti. Pk-yritysten suunnatessa liiketoimintaansa ... -
Embeddedness of enterprises prior to and during early internationalization : multiple case study of Finnish life-science companies
Vuorinen, Petra (2018)The aim of this master’s thesis was to understand the meaning of network structures and embeddedness of the Finnish SMEs when they begin the process of internationalization. All firms form network ties, but the depth and ...