The strategic decision-making process for the internationalization of family businesses

Abstract

Purpose of the paper: The principal aim of this study is to contribute to the literature on family businesses by providing some new insights about international strategic decisions of born global.

Methodology: An explorative, qualitative research has been employed. In-depth interviews with four main decision-makers of family businesses, involved in international activities, were conducted to examine the main factors influencing their strategic decisions.

Results: The research allowed to verify whether the factors identified by previous studies were correctly defined, by assessing their influence on international development decisions, and whether any other factors of influence emerged.

Limits: The main limitation of this paper is the sample’s characteristics, which do not allow a complete generalization of the results.

Implications: This study mainly permits to analyze the interactions within the family group involved in the management of companies, enriching the field of analysis that in previous studies was mainly focused on the characteristics of the entrepreneur or the managers.

Originality of the paper: This paper is one of the few contributions examining, on one hand, born global family firms and, on the other hand, which factors influence the main strategic decisions in the international context.