Home-Region Focus and Performance of Family Firms: The Role of Family vs. Non-Family Leaders
Journal of International Business Studies, No. 1-13, 2011
Northeastern U. D’Amore-McKim School of Business Research Paper No. 2013-13
Posted: 1 Sep 2011 Last revised: 14 Jun 2013
Date Written: September 1, 2011
Abstract
Do family firms benefit more from a regional or a global geographic scope? We suggest it depends on their family leadership type – family vs non-family leadership. We offer a nuanced view of agency and stewardship theories to hypothesize that family leaders are most beneficial when pursuing a regional strategy (i.e., high home-region focus (HRF)), whereas non-family leaders are more advantageous when pursing a global strategy (i.e., low HRF). Utilizing a sample of 202 Western European firms from 1996 to 2006, we find support for this central hypothesis. Thus family leadership influences the degree to which family firms benefit from HRF.
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