Intergenerational Succession and Internationalization of Family Firms

Abstract

Abstract: This paper aims to study the effects of the second-generation ownership and management on family firm internationalization, and the moderating effects of intergenerational authority and institutional distance in this relationship. A questionnaire survey of 253 family firms in seven provinces or municipalities of China in 2020 is used to test the proposed hypotheses empirically. The results are as follows. First, the second-generation ownership has a significant U-shape effect on internationalization depth and breadth, and the second-generation management has a significant positive effect on internationalization depth and breadth in family firms. Second, intergenerational authority, formal institutional distance and informal institutional distance weaken the effects of the second-generation ownership and management on internationalization depth and breadth in family firms. Further study finds that international market knowledge mediates the relationships among the second-generation ownership, the second-generation management and internationalization depth and breadth in family firms. This paper enriches and develops the literature on relationship between intergenerational succession and family firm internationalization, which also has both theoretical and practical significance in understanding how family firms make international strategic choices in the process of intergenerational succession.

Key words: family firm, intergenerational succession, internationalization, intergenerational authority, institutional distance

Zhou Lixin. Intergenerational Succession and Internationalization of Family Firms[J]. Management Review, 2024, 36(6): 183-197.

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