IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v61y2023i4d10.1007_s11187-023-00736-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ownership, governance, and internationalization in family firms: a replication and extension

Author

Listed:
  • Francesco Debellis

    (University of Vienna)

  • Michele Pinelli

    (University Ca’ Foscari)

  • Marcel Hülsbeck

    (Witten/Herdecke University
    University of Applied Sciences Munich)

  • Anne Heider

    (Witten/Herdecke University)

Abstract

In one of the most influential studies on family firm internationalization, Sciascia et al. (2012) advance a curvilinear relationship between family ownership and firm internationalization. We replicate their study adopting a three-step approach. First, we use the same measures on a different sample to test the generalizability of their findings. Second, we change the independent variable and hypothesize a negative relationship between family involvement in the board of directors and firm internationalization. Third, we introduce and measure the moderating role of firm age and firm size in this relationship. Our study advances the family firm internationalization literature both theoretically and methodologically. Theoretically, we show that it is not so much family ownership per se, but the influence the family obtains through board directorship that affects the family firm internationalization strategy. In addition, we show that this effect is moderated by firm age and size. Methodologically, our study is an important step forward toward increasingly transparent and replicable family business research.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Debellis & Michele Pinelli & Marcel Hülsbeck & Anne Heider, 2023. "Ownership, governance, and internationalization in family firms: a replication and extension," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1437-1459, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:61:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s11187-023-00736-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-023-00736-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-023-00736-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-023-00736-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard A. Bettis & Constance E. Helfat & J. Myles Shaver & Richard A. Bettis & Constance E. Helfat & J. Myles Shaver, 2016. "The necessity, logic, and forms of replication," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(11), pages 2193-2203, November.
    2. Alexis Catanzaro & Christine Teyssier, 2021. "Export promotion programs, export capabilities, and risk management practices of internationalized SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1479-1503, October.
    3. Verbeke, Alain & Brugman, Paul, 2009. "Triple-testing the quality of multinationality-performance research: An internalization theory perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 265-275, June.
    4. Maximilian Lude & Reinhard Prügl, 2019. "Risky Decisions and the Family Firm Bias: An Experimental Study Based on Prospect Theory," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(2), pages 386-408, March.
    5. Kimberly A. Eddleston & Franz W. Kellermanns & Thomas M. Zellweger, 2012. "Exploring the Entrepreneurial Behavior of Family Firms: Does the Stewardship Perspective Explain Differences?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(2), pages 347-367, March.
    6. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 2009. "The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(9), pages 1411-1431, December.
    7. Mueller-Langer, Frank & Fecher, Benedikt & Harhoff, Dietmar & Wagner, Gert G., 2019. "Replication studies in economics—How many and which papers are chosen for replication, and why?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 48(1), pages 62-83.
    8. Danny Miller & Isabelle Le Breton‐Miller & Barry Scholnick, 2008. "Stewardship vs. Stagnation: An Empirical Comparison of Small Family and Non‐Family Businesses," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 51-78, January.
    9. Yannick Bammens & Wim Voordeckers & Anita Gils, 2008. "Boards of directors in family firms: a generational perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 163-180, August.
    10. Zahra, Shaker A. & Filatotchev, Igor & Wright, Mike, 2009. "How do threshold firms sustain corporate entrepreneurship? The role of boards and absorptive capacity," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 248-260, May.
    11. Stoian, Maria-Cristina & Dimitratos, Pavlos & Plakoyiannaki, Emmanuella, 2018. "SME internationalization beyond exporting: A knowledge-based perspective across managers and advisers," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 768-779.
    12. Lucas C. Coffman & Muriel Niederle & Alistair J. Wilson, 2017. "A Proposal to Organize and Promote Replications," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 41-45, May.
    13. Jean‐Luc Arregle & Michael A. Hitt & David G. Sirmon & Philippe Very, 2007. "The Development of Organizational Social Capital: Attributes of Family Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 73-95, January.
    14. Herman Aguinis & Wayne F. Cascio & Ravi S. Ramani, 2017. "Science’s reproducibility and replicability crisis: International business is not immune," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(6), pages 653-663, August.
    15. Eddleston, Kimberly A. & Kellermanns, Franz W., 2007. "Destructive and productive family relationships: A stewardship theory perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 545-565, July.
    16. Fabio Zona & Alessandro Zattoni, 2007. "Beyond the Black Box of Demography: board processes and task effectiveness within Italian firms," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(5), pages 852-864, September.
    17. Jean-Luc Arregle & Francesco Chirico & Liena Kano & Sumit K. Kundu & Antonio Majocchi & William S. Schulze, 2021. "Correction to: Family firm internationalization: Past research and an agenda for the future," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(6), pages 1199-1199, August.
    18. Hyunsuk Lee & Donna Kelley & Jangwoo Lee & Sunghun Lee, 2012. "SME Survival: The Impact of Internationalization, Technology Resources, and Alliances," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(1), pages 1-19, January.
    19. Richard A. Bettis & Constance E. Helfat & J. Myles Shaver & Clint Chadwick & James P. Guthrie & Xuejing Xing, 2016. "The HR executive effect on firm performance and survival," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(11), pages 2346-2361, November.
    20. Salvatore Sciascia & Pietro Mazzola & Joseph Astrachan & Torsten Pieper, 2012. "The role of family ownership in international entrepreneurship: exploring nonlinear effects," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 15-31, January.
    21. Munjal, Surender & Requejo, Ignacio & Kundu, Sumit K., 2019. "Offshore outsourcing and firm performance: Moderating effects of size, growth and slack resources," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 484-494.
    22. Vincent Molly & Lorraine M. Uhlaner & Alfredo De Massis & Eddy Laveren, 2019. "Family-centered goals, family board representation, and debt financing," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 269-286, June.
    23. Vidhi Chhaochharia & Yaniv Grinstein, 2007. "Corporate Governance and Firm Value: The Impact of the 2002 Governance Rules," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1789-1825, August.
    24. Anne Heider & Marcel Hülsbeck & Leopold Schlenk-Barnsdorf, 2022. "The role of family firm specific resources in innovation: an integrative literature review and framework," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(2), pages 483-530, June.
    25. Arzubiaga, Unai & Kotlar, Josip & De Massis, Alfredo & Maseda, Amaia & Iturralde, Txomin, 2018. "Entrepreneurial orientation and innovation in family SMEs: Unveiling the (actual) impact of the Board of Directors," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 455-469.
    26. Alessandro Minichilli & Mattias Nordqvist & Guido Corbetta & Mario Daniele Amore, 2014. "CEO Succession Mechanisms, Organizational Context, and Performance: A Socio-Emotional Wealth Perspective on Family-Controlled Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(7), pages 1153-1179, November.
    27. Debellis, Francesco & Rondi, Emanuela & Plakoyiannaki, Emmanuella & De Massis, Alfredo, 2021. "Riding the waves of family firm internationalization: A systematic literature review, integrative framework, and research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).
    28. Pongelli, Claudia & Majocchi, Antonio & Bauweraerts, Jonathan & Sciascia, Salvatore & Caroli, Matteo & Verbeke, Alain, 2023. "The impact of board of directors’ characteristics on the internationalization of family SMEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    29. Zahra, Shaker A., 2003. "International expansion of U.S. manufacturing family businesses: the effect of ownership and involvement," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 495-512, July.
    30. Hanqinq “Chevy†Fang & Robert V.D.G. Randolph & Esra Memili & James J. Chrisman, 2016. "Does Size Matter? The Moderating Effects of Firm Size on the Employment of Nonfamily Managers in Privately Held Family SMEs," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(5), pages 1017-1039, September.
    31. Jean-Luc Arregle & Francesco Chirico & Liena Kano & Sumit K. Kundu & Antonio Majocchi & William S. Schulze, 2021. "Family firm internationalization: Past research and an agenda for the future," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(6), pages 1159-1198, August.
    32. Salvatore Sciascia & Pietro Mazzola & Joseph H. Astrachan & Torsten M. Pieper, 2013. "Family Involvement in the Board of Directors: Effects on Sales Internationalization," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(1), pages 83-99, January.
    33. Danny Miller & Isabelle Le Breton-Miller & Richard H. Lester, 2013. "Family Firm Governance, Strategic Conformity, and Performance: Institutional vs. Strategic Perspectives," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(1), pages 189-209, February.
    34. Brinkerink, Jasper & De Massis, Alfredo & Kellermanns, Franz, 2022. "One finding is no finding: Toward a replication culture in family business research," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(4).
    35. Richard A. Bettis & Constance E. Helfat & J. Myles Shaver & Anindya Ghosh & Ram Ranganathan & Lori Rosenkopf, 2016. "The impact of context and model choice on the determinants of strategic alliance formation: Evidence from a staged replication study," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(11), pages 2204-2221, November.
    36. Debellis, Francesco & De Massis, Alfredo & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio & Frattini, Federico & Del Giudice, Manlio, 2021. "Strategic agility and international joint ventures: The willingness-ability paradox of family firms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    37. William S. Schulze & Michael H. Lubatkin & Richard N. Dino & Ann K. Buchholtz, 2001. "Agency Relationships in Family Firms: Theory and Evidence," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(2), pages 99-116, April.
    38. Jean-François Hennart & Antonio Majocchi & Emanuele Forlani, 2019. "The myth of the stay-at-home family firm: How family-managed SMEs can overcome their internationalization limitations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(5), pages 758-782, July.
    39. Danny Miller & Jangwoo Lee & Sooduck Chang & Isabelle Le Breton-Miller, 2009. "Filling the institutional void: The social behavior and performance of family vs non-family technology firms in emerging markets," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(5), pages 802-817, June.
    40. Hanqing “Chevy” Fang & Esra Memili & James J. Chrisman & Linjia Tang, 2021. "Narrow‐Framing and Risk Preferences in Family and Non‐Family Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 201-235, January.
    41. Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike & Ucbasaran, Deniz, 2001. "The internationalization of new and small firms: A resource-based view," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 333-358, July.
    42. Jane W. Lu & Paul W. Beamish, 2001. "The internationalization and performance of SMEs," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 565-586, June.
    43. Jeffrey A. Chandler & Tsutomu Doiguchi & Oleg V. Petrenko, 2022. "Revisiting the Effect of Internationalization on Firm Governance: A Replication and Extension Study," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 351-391, June.
    44. D’Angelo, Alfredo & Buck, Trevor, 2019. "The earliness of exporting and creeping sclerosis? The moderating effects of firm age, size and centralization," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 428-437.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nicola Capolupo & Zuzana Virglerova & Angelo Rosa & Dario Natale Palmucci, 2024. "The relationship between biases and entrepreneurial Decision-Making. Evidence from Italian and Czech SMEs," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 3323-3348, December.
    2. Michele Pinelli & Francesco Debellis & Alfredo Massis, 2024. "Long-term orientation, family-intensive governance arrangements, and firm performance: an institutional economics perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 731-754, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francesco Debellis & Mariateresa Torchia & Fabio Quarato & Andrea Calabrò, 2023. "Board openness and family firm internationalization: a social capital perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1431-1448, April.
    2. Debellis, Francesco & Rondi, Emanuela & Plakoyiannaki, Emmanuella & De Massis, Alfredo, 2021. "Riding the waves of family firm internationalization: A systematic literature review, integrative framework, and research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).
    3. Kerai, Anita & Kumar, Vikas & Singla, Chitra, 2023. "Impact of TMT structural power asymmetry on family firm internationalization," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    4. Pongelli, Claudia & Majocchi, Antonio & Bauweraerts, Jonathan & Sciascia, Salvatore & Caroli, Matteo & Verbeke, Alain, 2023. "The impact of board of directors’ characteristics on the internationalization of family SMEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    5. Casprini, Elena & Dabic, Marina & Kotlar, Josip & Pucci, Tommaso, 2020. "A bibliometric analysis of family firm internationalization research: Current themes, theoretical roots, and ways forward," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    6. Arz, Christopher, 2019. "Bridging the micro-macro gap: A multi-layer culture framework for understanding entrepreneurial orientation in family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 1-1.
    7. Jean-Luc Arregle & Francesco Chirico & Liena Kano & Sumit K. Kundu & Antonio Majocchi & William S. Schulze, 2021. "Family firm internationalization: Past research and an agenda for the future," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(6), pages 1159-1198, August.
    8. Michele Pinelli & Francesco Debellis & Alfredo Massis, 2024. "Long-term orientation, family-intensive governance arrangements, and firm performance: an institutional economics perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 731-754, August.
    9. Bauweraerts, Jonathan & Arzubiaga, Unai & Diaz-Moriana, Vanessa, 2022. "Unveiling the global focus-performance relationship in family firms: The role of the board of directors," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(4).
    10. Carney, Michael & Duran, Patricio & van Essen, Marc & Shapiro, Daniel, 2017. "Family firms, internationalization, and national competitiveness: Does family firm prevalence matter?," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 123-136.
    11. Ivan Miroshnychenko & Alfredo De Massis & Danny Miller & Roberto Barontini, 2021. "Family Business Growth Around the World," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(4), pages 682-708, July.
    12. Cho, Jaeyoung & Miller, Danny & Lee, Jangwoo, 2018. "Too much of a good thing: Family involvement and the survival of listed Korean firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 223-237.
    13. Arzubiaga, Unai & Kotlar, Josip & De Massis, Alfredo & Maseda, Amaia & Iturralde, Txomin, 2018. "Entrepreneurial orientation and innovation in family SMEs: Unveiling the (actual) impact of the Board of Directors," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 455-469.
    14. Azizi, Mohammad & Salmani Bidgoli, Masoud & Maley, Jane F. & Dabić, Marina, 2022. "A stewardship perspective in family firms: A new perspective for altruism and social capital," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 764-775.
    15. Rosalia Santulli & Mariateresa Torchia & Andrea Calabrò & Carmen Gallucci, 2019. "Family ownership concentration and firm internationalization: integrating principal-principal and socioemotional wealth perspectives," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 220-248, June.
    16. Lapeira, Maria & Samara, Georges & Kundu, Sumit & Kumaraswamy, Arun, 2024. "To export or to FDI? A configurational approach to family firm internationalization," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 59(2).
    17. Andrea Calabrò & James J. Chrisman & Liena Kano, 2022. "Family-owned multinational enterprises in the post-pandemic global economy," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(5), pages 920-935, July.
    18. Eberhard, Manuel & Craig, Justin, 2013. "The evolving role of organisational and personal networks in international market venturing," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 385-397.
    19. Cirillo, Alessandro & Maggi, Barbara & Sciascia, Salvatore & Lazzarotti, Valentina & Visconti, Federico, 2022. "Exploring family millennials’ involvement in family business internationalization: Who should be their leader?," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3).
    20. Salvatore Sciascia & Pietro Mazzola & Joseph Astrachan & Torsten Pieper, 2012. "The role of family ownership in international entrepreneurship: exploring nonlinear effects," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 15-31, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Family firms; Internationalization; Replication; Board of directors; Firm age; Firm size;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:61:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s11187-023-00736-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.