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Call for papers

Family firm internationalization: Rethinking theories, methods and contexts

 

Review of International Business and Strategy

 

Opening date for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2023
Closing date for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2023

 

Guest editor(s): Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki, Francesco Debellis, Christos
Sarmaniotis, Giulia Galizzi

 

Introduction 

Family firms (FFs) - organizations in which one or more families have the
ability to influence strategic decisions and the willingness to keep the
firm sustainable across generations (Chua et al., 1999) - are the most
ubiquitous form of organization worldwide, accounting for over 70% of annual
global GDP. They indeed represent more than one third of S&P 500 firms in
the US, over 90% of European firms, and significantly contribute to the
growth of economies in Asia, Latin America, and Africa (De Massis et al.,
2018; Eddleston et al., 2019). In FFs, decision-makers face a “mixed
gamble”, taking decisions weighting the potential gains and losses on their
strategic options not only from an economic perspective, but also and
foremost from a socioemotional wealth perspective (Gomez-Mejia et al.,
2018). The simultaneous presence of economic and non-economic goals makes
thus the context of FFs a great opportunity to challenge and enrich
established theories in the international business field (Debellis et al.
2021; Kano et al., 2021).

 

The topic of FF internationalization is gaining momentum, attracting
interest from scholars of different fields (Arregle et al., 2021; Rondi et
al., 2022). In the last seven years, over three times the number of FF
internationalization articles have been published in leading journals
compared to the aggregate number published before, and more than 45%
appeared in leading international business journals. Although the topic is
attracting more and more research interest, there are still important yet
currently overlooked research areas (please see the indicative list of
anticipated themes below). In addition, the current context of global
uncertainty and higher costs in international transactions makes this
special issue particularly warranted and timing for carefully rethinking on
the behavior of family firms in the new global scenario. Furthermore, on a
methodological perspective, extant literature has mainly adopted a
quantitative variance-based approach, neglecting to appreciate the
fundamental role of time and context and to capture the nuances of FF
internationalization process (Metsola et al., 2020; Reuber, 2016). With this
special issue, we pave the way for research endeavors to address these
relevant yet under investigated issues.

 

This special issue aims to advance theoretical, methodological and
managerial contributions. Firstly, it deepens the current understanding on
FF internationalization, by reconciling mixed evidence and promoting
theory-integration and extension in the intersection with the international
business field. It aims to enrich the current stock of knowledge on FF
internationalization by problematizing and extending current theories and
concepts used to explain relevant phenomena. Furthermore, this special issue
paves the way for methodological pluralism and innovation that address the
uniqueness and idiosyncrasies of FF internationalization phenomena. In doing
so, we are strongly encouraging submissions able to address the
heterogeneity of family firms and their internationalization process from
different levels of analysis, embracing different research methodologies and
emphasizing under-explored contexts. Finally, this issue intends to
highlight the potential managerial and social impacts of FF
internationalization with the aim of helping and supporting family owners
and managers in their international growth.

 

List of topic areas

We encourage scholarship that challenges convention and reconsider theories,
methodologies and practices in family firm internationalization research. We
invite conceptual, methodological, and empirical (qualitative, quantitative,
and mixed-methods) contributions that address and rethink themes such as -
but not limited to - the following: 

 

*	Cognitive and psychological microfoundations of international FFs
*	The role of individual and group cognition in shaping family
multinationals' decisions 
*	The role of values and the effect of family non-economic goals on
firm internationalization 
*	The relationship between innovation and internationalization in FFs 
*	FFs challenges in entry modes beyond exports 
*	Strategic alliances by FFs and post-entry governance mechanisms 
*	Intra- and inter-organizational disputes and conflict resolution
mechanisms in FFs
*	The role of bonding and bridging social capital and the effects of
network dynamics on the internationalization process of FFs 
*	Offshoring and reshoring decisions by FFs and governance of Global
Value Chain
*	The destabilization and re-stabilization of FFs logics and routines
in the firm internationalization process 
*	The role of time and context in FF internationalization 
*	Resilience and aftermath of FFs to downturns and environmental jolts

*	The impact of political trends and governments on the international
choices of FFs 
*	Methodological contributions using temporal and processual
theorizing in FF internationalization research 

*         

Submission Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access
are available at:  <https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/roibs>
https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/roibs

Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see:
<https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/ribs#author-guidelines>
https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/ribs#author-guidelines

Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at
the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please
select the issue you are submitting to”. 

Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they
be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for
this journal.

 

Key deadlines

Opening date for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2023
Closing date for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2023

 

For further information please contact

Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki, University of Vienna, Faculty of Business,
Economics and Statistics, Austria,
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
[log in to unmask]

Christos Sarmaniotis, International Hellenic University, Department of
Organisation Management, Marketing and Tourism, Greece,
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]
 

References

Arregle JL, Chirico F, Kano L, Kundu SK, Majocchi A, & Schulze WS (2021).
Family firm internationalization: Past research and an agenda for the
future. Journal of International Business Studies, 52 (6), 1159-1198.

Chua, J. H., Chrisman, J. J., & Sharma, P. (1999). Defining the family
business by behavior. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 23(4), 19-39.

Debellis, F., Rondi, E., Plakoyiannaki, E., & De Massis, A. (2021). Riding
the waves of family firm internationalization: A systematic literature
review, integrative framework, and research agenda. Journal of World
Business, 56(1), 101144. 

De Massis, A., Frattini, F., Majocchi, A., & Piscitello, L. (2018). Family
firms in the global economy: Toward a deeper understanding of
internationalization determinants, processes, and outcomes. Global Strategy
Journal, 8(1), 3-21.

Eddleston KA, Jaskiewicz P, & Wright M (2020). Family firms and
internationalization in the Asia-Pacific: The need for multi-level
perspectives. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 37 (2), 345-361.

Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Patel, P. C., & Zellweger, T. M. (2018). In the horns of
the dilemma: Socioemotional wealth, financial wealth, and acquisitions in
family firms. Journal of Management, 44(4), 1369-1397.

Kano, L., Ciravegna, L., & Rattalino, F. (2021). The family as a platform
for FSA development: Enriching new internalization theory with insights from
family firm research. Journal of International Business Studies, 52(1),
148-160.

Metsola, J., Leppäaho, T., Paavilainen-Mäntymäki, E., & Plakoyiannaki, E.
(2020). Process in family business internationalisation: The state of the
art and ways forward. International Business Review, 29(2), 101665.

Reuber, A. R. (2016). An assemblage–theoretic perspective on the
internationalization processes of family firms. Entrepreneurship Theory and
Practice, 40(6), 1269-1286.

Rondi, E., Debellis, F., Bettinelli, C., & De Massis, A. V. (2022). Family
multinationals: A systematic literature review to take stock and look ahead.
International Marketing Review. In press.

 

--------------------------------------------------

Univ-Prof. Dr. Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki

Chair of International Business

Associate Editor, British Journal of Management 

Co-Chair of IB/IM SIG, British Academy of Management (BAM)

Faculty of Business, Economics and Statistics 

University of Vienna

Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 

1090 Vienna, Austria 

 <https://international-business.univie.ac.at/>
https://international-business.univie.ac.at

 

 


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