Family business internationalization : The process and factors influencing the internationalization decision

Abstract

Family business internationalization is an important research topic due to the significance of small and medium-sized family firms in the global economy. Similarly, the research field provides limited and inconclusive conclusions on how family firms internationalize, henceforth this master's thesis aims to explore the factors that influence family firms' decision to internationalize as well as the process of their foreign expansion.

This master's thesis is a qualitative study with an exploratory purpose. The main methodological approach was a multiple case study, thus primary data was collected via semi-structured interviews from nine family business cases to allow for an in-depth understanding of the phenomena. A cross-case analysis was selected as a data analysis method to reveal relationships between concepts and underlying reasons for particular behaviours of family firms.

The analysis revealed numerous similarities with the existing literature, nonetheless, new findings were also discovered. Among others, it was confirmed that family firms mostly internationalize according to the Uppsala model. The main newly discovered findings uncover that the cultural background of a firm can have an impact on their level of socioemotional wealth which in turn can hinder international expansion. Moreover, the status of family business helps firms in the process of internationalization.

Findings included in this study contribute to the overall research field of family business internationalization. The conclusions can help family business managers to recognise various factors, biases but also resources needed to successfully execute international expansion. Future research recommendations include e.g., researching dimensions of culture and their impact on the socioemotional wealth of family firms.