Family firm internationalization: Past research and an agenda for the future

Jean-Luc Arrègle (), Francesco Chirico, Liena Kano, Sumit K. Kundu, Antonio Majocchi () and William S. Schulze
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Jean-Luc Arrègle: EM - EMLyon Business School
Francesco Chirico: Macquarie University, Jönköping University - Jönköping University [Sweden]
Liena Kano: University of Calgary
Sumit K. Kundu: FIU - Florida International University [Miami]
William S. Schulze: University of Utah

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Abstract: Although the study of family firm internationalization has generated considerable scholarly attention, existing research has offered varied and at times incompatible findings on how family ownership and management shape internationalization. To improve our understanding of family firm internationalization, we systematically review 220 conceptual and empirical studies published over the past three decades, structuring our comprehensive overview of this field according to seven core international business (IB) themes. We assess the literature and propose directions for future research by developing an integrative framework of family firm internationalization that links IB theory with conceptual perspectives used in the reviewed body of work. We propose a research agenda that advocates a cross-disciplinary, multi-theoretic, and cross-level approach to studying family firm internationalization. We conclude that family firm internationalization research has the potential to contribute valuable insights to IB scholarship by increasing attention to conceptual and methodological issues, including micro-level affective motivations, background social institutions, temporal perspectives, and multi-level analyses.Bien que l'internationalisation des entreprises familiales ait fait l'objet d'un intérêt de recherche considérable, les travaux existants apportent des résultats variés et parfois incompatibles sur la manière dont la propriété et la gestion familiales façonnent l'internationalisation. Dans le but d'améliorer notre connaissance de l'internationalisation des entreprises familiales, nous examinons systématiquement 220 travaux conceptuels et empiriques publiés au cours des trois dernières décennies, permettant de structurer notre aperçu complet sur ce champ selon sept thèmes clés des affaires internationales (IB - International Business). Nous évaluons la littérature, et proposons des orientations de recherche pour l'avenir en développant un cadre intégrateur de l'internationalisation des entreprises familiales, lequel relie la théorie IB aux perspectives conceptuelles utilisées dans l'ensemble des travaux examinés. Nous proposons un programme de recherche qui prône une approche transdisciplinaire, multi-théorique et multi-niveaux pour étudier l'internationalisation des entreprises familiales. Nous concluons que les travaux portés sur cette dernière ont le potentiel d'apporter des renseignements précieux au champ de recherche IB, en accordant une attention accrue aux problèmes méthodologiques et conceptuels, plus particulièrement, aux motivations affectives au niveau micro, aux institutions sociales de base, aux perspectives temporelles et aux analyses multi-niveaux.

Keywords: systematic review; family firm internationalization; international business theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-08-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int and nep-sbm
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Published in Journal of International Business Studies, 2021, 52 (6), 1159-1198 p. ⟨10.1057/s41267-021-00425-2⟩

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Journal Article: Family firm internationalization: Past research and an agenda for the future (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03381228

DOI: 10.1057/s41267-021-00425-2

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