The internationalization of family business: a conceptual proposal

Abstract

Internationalization means, for most firms, one of the main challenges that organizations must face in order to assure their survival in a global and complex environment. When looking at the family firms, this challenge presents another added aspect to be taken into account. As for any firm, entering in international markets means facing uncertain environments that require a certain restructuration (manufacturing process, new distribution channels, new financial sources, etc.). Besides, the family firms do not want to loose the control that the family exerts on the firm. Therefore, family firms must deal with two opposite forces: one force that favours their need to grow and enter in new markets, and other that seeks the stability and the development of low-risk projects in their traditional market. It is necessary to seek the underpinnings of the internationalization of these firms. Are they different from the rest of firms? What made them achieve their actual status? Can the existing theoretical models explain the internationalization process of these firms? How can we adapt these models to the family firms’ reality? In this work, we expose some of these questions and we propose a global model oriented to the understanding of the international strategy selection within the family firms. This model is aimed at orienting the internationalization phenomenon for those researchers interested in the international business and in the family firms, but also to the owners worried about their international expansion and the promotion agencies and consulting firms, public and private, related to the internationalization.