Family Firm Internationalization: Past Research and an Agenda for the Future

Journal of International Business Studies, Forthcoming

116 Pages Posted: 31 Mar 2021

See all articles by Jean‐Luc Arregle

Jean‐Luc Arregle

EM LYON Business School

Francesco Chirico

Jonkoping University - Jonkoping International Business School (JIBS); Macquarie University, Macquarie Business School

Liena Kano

University of Calgary

Sumit Kundu

Florida International University (FIU)

Antonio Majocchi

affiliation not provided to SSRN

William Schulze

University of Utah

Date Written: March 6, 2021

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.

Suggested Citation

Arregle, Jean-Luc and Chirico, Francesco and Chirico, Francesco and Kano, Liena and Kundu, Sumit and Majocchi, Antonio and Schulze, William, Family Firm Internationalization: Past Research and an Agenda for the Future (March 6, 2021). Journal of International Business Studies, Forthcoming , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3798959

Jean-Luc Arregle

EM LYON Business School ( email )

23 Avenue Guy de Collongue
Ecully, 69132
France

Francesco Chirico (Contact Author)

Jonkoping University - Jonkoping International Business School (JIBS) ( email )

Jönköping, 55111
Sweden

Macquarie University, Macquarie Business School ( email )

New South Wales 2109
Australia

Liena Kano

University of Calgary ( email )

University Drive
Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4
Canada

Sumit Kundu

Florida International University (FIU) ( email )

University Park
11200 SW 8th Street
Miami, FL 33199
United States

Antonio Majocchi

affiliation not provided to SSRN

William Schulze

University of Utah ( email )

1645 E. Campus Center
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
United States

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