Internationalization process of family firms : reasons, networks and obstacles

This thesis investigates the internationalization process of family firms. This topic has been an object of widespread research efforts. In order to explore how family companies expand abroad it would be ra-tional to consider internationalization theories, which show how company starts expansion and which factors affect the decision-making process and the speed of internationalization. Firms prefer different pathways: some expand gradually, while others are globally-oriented from their birth. In practical part internationalization of several Russian family firms is considered. It is a qualitative case study based on interviews and it’s findings help to analyze internationalization process and to indicate the role of net-works, distance-creating and distance-bridging factors.