Family entrepreneurship and internationalization strategies (PDF)

The internationalization of family businesses has been supported by entrepreneurial strategies that range from focusing on the reputation of the family to unique attributes of families that are evident in their products and services. Despite the importance of entrepreneurship and internationalization to family businesses the research is still in its infancy with inconsistent results. The aim of this special issue (e book) is to highlight the importance of family entrepreneurship and internationalization as family businesses dominate the global economy and are the backbone of socioeconomic development. This is important as most businesses originally begin as family businesses then evolve into larger businesses, depending on performance.This issue offers three major contributions to the research and practice of internationalization in family businesses. First, the role of entrepreneurship for facilitating internationalization of family businesses is discussed. Second, the importance of culture on family business and their internationalization efforts are stated. Third, we consider family to include both blood and non blood relations, which incorporates the more modern view of who constitutes a family.This special issue discusses the importance of family business in the global economy. Then the role of entrepreneurship and innovation is examined that focuses on family businesses and internationalization processes. Finally an agenda for future research is stated that provides some interesting interdisciplinary directions.