Internationalization of the family firm: The contribution of an entrepreneurial orientation

Abstract

This paper uses a longitudinal database to examine how family businesses compare with their non-family counterparts in one form of entrepreneurial activity, internationalization. It then evaluates some qualitative data to explore what elements of Lumpkin and Dess' (1996) entrepreneurial orientation - autonomy, innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness - may have been evident when family businesses internationalized. Results indicate that family firms are less likely to be internationally active compared with non-family firms. While the importance of innovativeness for international expansion is highlighted, findings suggest that unless family business managers have the freedom to act autonomously, the ability to benefit internationally from such innovation may be limited.