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A taxonomy of small- and medium-sized international family firms

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Abstract

This study develops a taxonomy of small- and medium-sized family firms that internationalise and discusses the different configurations of these firms based on firm culture (in terms of organisational orientations), firm strategy (in terms of differentiation, cost leadership and marketing standardisation) and firm structure (in terms of integration, centralisation and specialisation). Although the literature on international family firms has highlighted the significant role of organisational culture in firm internationalisation, the strategies and structures of international family firms and their consequences for performance have been disregarded. To examine the interplay of international family firm culture, strategy and structure, we employ a quantitative taxonomic approach that is rooted in configurational theory, analysing 504 Germany-based small- and medium-sized family firms. Different combinations of strategy, structure and culture result in different configurations of family firms and different levels of non-domestic performance. In considering these configurations, we aim to determine which combinations of strategies, structures and firm orientations are primarily applied by international family firms and whether these organisational configurations are successful. Our empirical findings suggest that there are four groups of firms: Domestic-Focussed Traditionalists, Global Standardisers, Multinational Adapters and Transnational Entrepreneurs. These configurations are clearly distinctive in terms of their structure, orientations and performance but differ less in terms of their strategies. Superior international (i.e. non-domestic) performance tends to be driven by a decentralised entrepreneurial approach.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and Tanja Kontinen and Arto Ojala for their efforts in putting together this special issue. Moreover, the authors thank Sarah Liesenfeld for her help and inspiration in preparing this manuscript.

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  1. Trier University, Universitaetsring 15, 54286, Trier, Germany

    Bernhard Swoboda & Edith Olejnik

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  1. Bernhard Swoboda
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  2. Edith Olejnik
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Correspondence to Bernhard Swoboda.

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Swoboda, B., Olejnik, E. A taxonomy of small- and medium-sized international family firms. J Int Entrep 11, 130–157 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-012-0101-x

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