The impact of family involvement on the investments of Italian small-medium enterprises in psychically distant countries

Gianpoalo Baroncelli, Christina Bettinelli, Barbara Del Bosco, Sharon Loane

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this paper we investigate a sample of 122 Italian manufacturing small to medium-sized family firms, and analyse the effects of the degree of family involvement on their decisions to invest in psychically distant countries. Our findings indicate that higher family involvement tends to correspond to a lower number of foreign direct investments in psychically distant countries. Additionally, the firm’s age has a moderating effect on the relationship between family involvement and investments in psychically distant countries. When we analyse younger firms, family involvement turns out to be negatively associated with these investments, while this relationship is slightly positive when we consider older firms. These results allow us to move beyond family/non family owned comparative studies and provide a more nuanced view of family firm internationalization.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)960-970
JournalInternational Business Review
Volume25
Issue number4
Early online date18 Feb 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 31 Aug 2016

Keywords

  • Family business
  • Internationalisation
  • Psychic distance
  • FDI
  • SMEs

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