Abstract
This study aims at mapping the corporate strategies of Family Business Groups (FBGs) in the context of developed economies. Particularly, we analyze (i) how FBGs are structured and the degree of control on their investee companies, and (ii) which are their diversification strategies –product and geographic diversification strategies. The research setting is based on a sample of 238 FBGs in Catalonia, a propitious ecosystem for the prevalence of family business −88% of all Catalan companies are family-owned. Moreover, the Catalan economy is larger than that of most countries in the Eurozone and, thus, studying the Catalan context is representative of developed economies. We use an exploratory descriptive approach to understand which corporate strategies develop Catalan FBGs. Catalan FBGs are mainly small -in terms of the number of investee companies- and semi-pyramidal -with up to three hierarchical levels. Two-thirds of these FBGs are internationalized and almost half of them can be considered as globalizing-multinationals. Regarding their product diversification, Catalan FBGs operate in more than four subsectors and, on average, their parent-investee dyads exhibit a high level of industrial distance. This exploratory study joins the scarce body of research analyzing FBGs from developed economies and contributes to the strategy literature by showing how FBGs, a specific type of organization, undertake their corporate strategies.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
In the literature, the concepts of “headquarters”, “apex firm,” and “parent company” have been used indistinctively to refer to the company at the top of the organizational structure in a business group. The same for the concepts of “subsidiaries”, “affiliates,” and “investees” for the member firms in a business group, although we stress some of the main differences between them in the sections below.
- 2.
Technical note. Ownership and other information about the 238 GUOs were retrieved from SABI database, but these 238 GUOs must appear in Amadeus database in order to track international (mostly European) investees.
- 3.
Disclaimer. For the sample of FBGs, we have considered firms in Catalonia after October 2017, date when the Catalonia Independence Referendum was proclaimed.
- 4.
Pseudo-holding companies refer to real estate holding companies, which are a popular mechanism that some business groups use to avoid risks from owning investment properties, providing also asset protection, privacy, and, sometimes, even tax benefits.
- 5.
Note that any investment below 10% is a financial investment, thus, we do not consider financial investments as affiliates or subsidiaries.
- 6.
As we deal with non-listed companies, we do not have information about company assets, sales, and employees abroad. Therefore, due to data limitations, it is not possible for us to estimate the depth of internationalization.
- 7.
There is a small difference between the total number of investee companies (N = 9161) and the total number reported in Table 5.28. The difference equals 0.14% of the sample without information about the geographic location.
References
Akhter, N., Rautiainen, M., Pihkala, T., & Ikäheimonen, T. (2021). The risk that became true: Case study of a Pakistani family business portfolio diversification. In The Routledge companion to Asian family business (pp. 478–493). Routledge.
Almeida, H. V., & Wolfenzon, D. (2006). A theory of pyramidal ownership and family business groups. The Journal of Finance, 61(6), 2637–2680.
Anderson, R. C., & Reeb, D. M. (2003). Founding-family ownership and firm performance: Evidence from the S&P 500. The Journal of Finance, 58(3), 1301–1328.
Ansoff, H. I. (1957). Strategies for diversification. Harvard Business Review, 35(5), 113–124.
Arregle, J. L., Hitt, M. A., Sirmon, D. G., & Very, P. (2007). The development of organizational social capital: Attributes of family firms. Journal of Management Studies, 44(1), 73–95.
Arregle, J. L., Naldi, L., Nordqvist, M., & Hitt, M. A. (2012). Internationalization of family-controlled firms: A study of the effects of external involvement in governance. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 36(6), 1115–1143.
Banalieva, E. R., & Eddleston, K. A. (2011). Home-region focus and performance of family firms: The role of family vs non-family leaders. Journal of International Business Studies, 42(8), 1060–1072.
Baysinger, B., & Hoskisson, R. E. (1989). Diversification strategy and R&D intensity in multiproduct firms. Academy of Management Journal, 32(2), 310–332.
Block, J., Miller, D., Jaskiewicz, P., & Spiegel, F. (2013). Economic and technological importance of innovations in large family and founder firms: An analysis of patent data. Family Business Review, 26(2), 180–199.
Buckley, P. J., & Casson, M. (1976). A long-run theory of the multinational enterprise. In The future of the multinational enterprise (pp. 32–65). Palgrave Macmillan.
Carney, M., Gedajlovic, E. R., Heugens, P. P., Van Essen, M., & Van Oosterhout, J. H. (2011). Business group affiliation, performance, context, and strategy: A meta-analysis. Academy of Management Journal, 54(3), 437–460.
Carney, M., Van Essen, M., Gedajlovic, E. R., & Heugens, P. P. (2015). What do we know about private family firms? A meta-analytical review. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(3), 513–544.
Chang, C. S. (1988). Chaebol: The South Korean conglomerates. Business Horizon, 31(2), 51–57.
Chang, S. J. (2003). Ownership structure, expropriation, and performance of group-affiliated companies in Korea. Academy of Management Journal, 46, 238–254.
Chang, X., Hilary, G., Shih, C. M., & Tam, L. H. K. (2010). Conglomerate structure and capital market timing. Financial Management, 39, 1307–1338.
Cho, Y.-H., & Yoon, J. (2001). The origin and function of dynamic collectivism: An analysis of Korean corporate culture. Asia Pacific Business Review, 7(4), 70–88.
Chung, H. M. (2013). The role of family management and family ownership in diversification: The case of family business groups. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 30(3), 871–891.
Cirillo, A., Maggi, B., Sciascia, S., Lazzarotti, V., & Visconti, F. (2021). Exploring family millennials’ involvement in family business internationalization: Who should be their leader? Journal of Family Business Strategy, 100455.
Claessens, S., Djankov, S., & Lang, L. H. P. (2000a). The separation of ownership and control in East Asian corporations. Journal of Financial Economics, 58, 81–112.
Claessens, S., Djankov, S., Fan, J., & Lang, L. (2000b). Expropriation of minority shareholders in East Asia (Vol. 4). Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
Collinson, S., & Rugman, A. M. (2008). The regional nature of Japanese multinational business. Journal of International Business Studies, 39(2), 215–230.
Colpan, A. M., & Jones, G. (2016). Business groups, entrepreneurship and the growth of the Koç group in Turkey. Business History, 58(1), 69–88.
Crespí-Cladera, R., & Bru, L. (2006). Diversification of family business groups and board control. Available at SSRN 924845.
Cruz, C., & Nordqvist, M. (2012). Entrepreneurial orientation in family firms: A generational perspective. Small Business Economics, 38(1), 33–49.
Cuervo-Cazurra, A. (2006). Business groups and their types. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 23(4), 419–437.
Davis, G. F., Diekman, K., & Tinsley, C. H. (1994). The decline and fall of the conglomerate firm in the 1980s: The deinstitutionalization of an organizational form. American Sociological Review, 59, 547–570.
Deephouse, D. L., & Jaskiewicz, P. (2013). Do family firms have better reputations than non-family firms? An integration of socioemotional wealth and social identity theories. Journal of Management Studies, 50(3), 337–360.
Dyer, W. G. (1988). Culture and continuity in family firms. Family Business Review, 1(1), 37–50.
Dyer, W. G. (1994). Potential contributions of organizational behaviour to the study of family-owned businesses. Family Business Review, 7(2), 109–131.
Fernández, Z., & Nieto, M. J. (2005). Internationalization strategy of small and medium-sized family businesses: Some influential factors. Family Business Review, 18(1), 77–89.
Ferraris, A., Bogers, M. L., & Bresciani, S. (2020). Subsidiary innovation performance: Balancing external knowledge sources and internal embeddedness. Journal of International Management, 26(4), 100794.
Flores, R. G., & Aguilera, R. V. (2007). Globalization and location choice: An analysis of US multinational firms in 1980 and 2000. Journal of International Business Studies, 38(7), 1187–1210.
Gallo, M. A., & Pont, C. G. (1996). Important factors in family business internationalization. Family Business Review, 9(1), 45–59.
Gedajlovic, E., & Shapiro, D. M. (2002). Ownership structure and firm profitability in Japan. Academy of Management Journal, 45(3), 565–575.
Gersick, K. E., Davis, J. A., Hampton, M., & Lansberg, I. (1997). Generation to generation—Lifecycles of the family business. Harvard Business School Press.
Gómez-Mejía, L. R., Haynes, K. T., Núñez-Nickel, M., Jacobson, K. J., & Moyano-Fuentes, J. (2007). Socioemotional wealth and business risks in family-controlled firms: Evidence from Spanish olive oil mills. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52(1), 106–137.
Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Makri, M., & Kintana, M. L. (2010). Diversification decisions in family-controlled firms. Journal of Management Studies, 47(2), 223–252.
González, M., Guzmán, A., Pombo, C., & Trujillo, M.-A. (2013). Family firms and debt: Risk aversion versus risk of losing control. Journal of Business Research, 66(11), 2308–2320.
Granovetter, M. (1995). Coase revisited: Business groups in a modern economy. Industrial and Corporate Change, 4, 93–140.
Granovetter, M. (2005). Business groups and social organization. In N. J. Smelser & R. Swedberg (Eds.), The handbook of economic sociology (2nd ed., pp. 429–450). Princeton University Press.
Graves, C., & Thomas, J. (2004). Internationalisation of the family business: A longitudinal perspective. International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, 1(1), 7–27.
Guillen, M. F. (2005). The rise of Spanish multinationals. Cambridge University Press.
Hafner, C. (2021). Diversification in family firms: A systematic review of product and international diversification strategies. Review of Managerial Science, 15(3), 529–572.
Hall, A., Melin, L., & Nordqvist, M. (2001). Entrepreneurship as radical change in the family business: Exploring the role of cultural patterns. Family Business Review, 14(3), 193–208.
Hernández-Trasobares, A., & Galve-Górriz, C. (2017). Diversification and family control as determinants of performance: A study of listed business groups. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 23(1), 46–54.
Hohberger, J., & Wilden, R. (2022). Geographic diversity of knowledge inputs: The importance of aligning locations of knowledge inputs and inventors. Journal of Business Research, 145, 705–719.
Hoskisson, R. O., & Johnson, R. A. (1992). Corporate restructuring and strategic change: The effect on diversification strategy and R & D intensity. Strategic Management Journal, 13, 625–634.
IEF. (2015). https://www.iefamiliar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/La-Empresa-Familiar-en-Espan%CC%83a-2015.pdf
Iacobucci, D., & Rosa, P. (2005). Growth, diversification and business group formation in entrepreneurial firms. Small Business Economics, 25(1), 65–82.
Khanna, T., & Yafeh, Y. (2007). Business groups in emerging markets: Paragons or parasites? Journal of Economic Literature, 45(2), 331–372.
Kim, H., Hoskisson, R. E., Tihanyi, L., & Hong, J. (2004). The evolution and restructuring of diversified business groups in emerging markets: The lessons from chaebols in Korea. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 21, 25–48.
Kock, C. J., & Guillén, M. F. (2001). Strategy and structure in developing countries: Business groups as an evolutionary response to opportunities for unrelated diversification. Industrial and Corporate Change, 10, 77–113.
Kogut, B., & Zander, U. (1992). Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities, and the replication of technology. Organization Science, 3(3), 383–397.
Kogut, B., & Zander, U. (1993). Knowledge of the firm and the evolutionary theory of the multinational corporation. Journal of International Business Studies, 24(4), 625–645.
Kumar, V., Gaur, A. S., & Pattnaik, C. (2012). Product diversification and international expansion of business groups: Evidence from India. Management International Review, 52(2), 175–192.
Lamin, A. (2013). Business groups as information resource: An investigation of business group affiliation in the Indian software services industry. Academy of Management Journal, 56(5), 1487–1509.
Lansberg, I. (1983). Managing human resources in family firms: The problem of institutional overlap. Organizational Dynamics, 12, 39–46.
La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (2002). Investor protection and corporate valuation. Journal of Finance, 57, 1147–1170.
Lu, J. W., & Beamish, P. W. (2004). International diversification and firm performance: The S-curve hypothesis. Academy of Management Journal, 47(4), 598–609.
Mahmood, I. P., & Mitchell, W. (2004). Two faces: Effects of business groups on innovation in emerging economies. Management Science, 50(10), 1348–1365.
Mäkimattila, M., Rautiainen, M., & Pihkala, T. (2016). Systemic innovation in complex business portfolios—A case study. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 10(2–3), 363–379.
Manikandan, K. S., & Ramachandran, J. (2015). Beyond institutional voids: Business groups, incomplete markets, and organizational form. Strategic Management Journal, 36(4), 598–617.
Markides, C. C., & Williamson, P. J. (1994). Related diversification, core competences and corporate performance. Strategic Management Journal, 15, 149–165.
Masulis, R. W., Pham, P. K., & Zein, J. (2011). Family business groups around the world: Financing advantages, control motivations, and organizational choices. The Review of Financial Studies, 24(11), 3556–3600.
Mccann, J. E., III., Leon-Guerrero, A. Y., & Haley, J. D., Jr. (2001). Strategic goals and practices of innovative family businesses. Journal of Small Business Management, 39(1), 50–59.
Mendoza, X., Espinosa-Méndez, C., & Araya-Castillo, L. (2019). When geography matters: International diversification and firm performance of Spanish multinationals. BRQ Business Research Quarterly.
Miller, D. (2006). Technological diversity, related diversification, and firm performance. Strategic Management Journal, 27, 601–619.
Miller, D., & Le Breton–Miller, I. (2011). Governance, social identity, and entrepreneurial orientation in closely held public companies. Entrepreneurship Theory and practice, 35(5), 1051–1076.
Miller, D., Le Breton-Miller, I., Lester, R. H., & Cannella Jr, A. A. (2007). Are family firms really superior performers? Journal of Corporate Finance, 13(5), 829–858.
Morck, R. (2010). The riddle of the great pyramids. In A. M. Colpan, T. Hikino, & J. R. Lincoln (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of business groups (pp. 602–628). Oxford University Press.
Morck, R., Wolfenzon, D., & Yeung, B. (2005). Corporate governance, economic entrenchment, and growth. Journal of Economic Literature, 43, 655–720.
Mukherjee, K., Rautiainen, M., Pihkala, T., & Rosa, P. (2019). The dynamics and complexity of family business groups. In M. Rautiainen, P. Rosa, T. Pihkala, M.-J. Parada, & A. Discua Cruz (Eds.), The family business group phenomenon—Emergence and complexities (pp. 177–200). Palgrave Macmillan.
Oh, C. H., & Rugman, A. M. (2012). Regional integration and the international strategies of large European firms. International Business Review, 21(3), 493–507.
Palepu, K. (1985). Diversification strategy, profit performance and the entropy measure. Strategic Management Journal, 6(3), 239–255.
Parada, M. J., Akhter, N., Basco, R., Discua Cruz, A., & Fitz-Koch, S. (2019). Understanding the dynamics of business group development: A transgenerational perspective. In The family business group phenomenon (pp. 201–222). Palgrave Macmillan.
Pihkala, T., Goel, S., Rautiainen, M., Mukherjee, K., & Ikävalko, M. (2019). Deciphering ownership of family business groups. In M. Rautiainen, P. Rosa, T. Pihkala, M.-J. Parada, & A. Discua Cruz (Eds.), The family business group phenomenon—Emergence and complexities (pp. 223–252). Palgrave Macmillan.
Pukall, T. J., & Calabro, A. (2014). The internationalization of family firms: A critical review and integrative model. Family Business Review, 27(2), 103–125.
Qian, G., Khoury, T. A., Peng, M. W., & Qian, Z. (2010). The performance implications of intra-and inter-regional geographic diversification. Strategic Management Journal, 31(9), 1018–1030.
Rautiainen, M. (2012). Dynamic ownership in family business system—A portfolio business approach.
Rautiainen, M., Rosa, P., Pihkala, T., Parada, M. J., & Discua Cruz, A. F. (2019). The family business group phenomenon—Emergence and complexities. Palgrave Macmillan.
Robson, G., Gallagher, C., & Daly, M. (1993). Diversification strategy and practice in small firms. International Small Business Journal, 11(2), 37–53.
Rosa, P., & Pihkala, T. (2019). Theoretical insights into the nature, diversity and persistence of business groups. In M. Rautiainen, P. Rosa, T. Pihkala, M.-J. Parada, & A. Discua Cruz (Eds.), The family business group phenomenon—Emergence and complexities (pp. 17–35). Palgrave Macmillan.
Rosa, P., Rautiainen, M., Pihkala, T., Parada, M. J., & Discua Cruz, A. (2019). Conclusions: Researching family business groups: Lessons learned and avenues for further research. In The family business group phenomenon (pp. 387–395). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Rumelt, R. P. (1982). Diversification strategy and profitability. Strategic Management Journal, 3(4), 359–369.
Schneider, B. R. (2009). Hierarchical market economies and varieties of capitalism in Latin America. Journal of Latin American Studies, 41(03), 553–575.
Schulze, W. S., Lubatkin, M. H., & Dino, R. N. (2003). Toward a theory of agency and altruism in family firms. Journal of Business Venturing, 18(4), 473–490.
Schulze, W. S., Lubatkin, M. H., Dino, R. N., & Buchholtz, A. K. (2001). Agency relationships in family firms: Theory and evidence. Organization science, 12(2), 99–116.
Scott, M., & Rosa, P. (1996). Opinion: Has firm level analysis reached its limits? Time for a rethink? International Small Business Journal, 14(4), 81–89.
Todeva, E. (2005). Governance, control and co-ordination in network context: The cases of Japanese Keiretsu and Sogo Shosha. Journal of International Management, 11, 87–109.
Wan, W. P., Hoskisson, R. E., Short, J. C., & Yiu, D. W. (2011). Resource-based theory and corporate diversification: Accomplishments and opportunities. Journal of Management, 37(5), 1335–1368.
Witt, M. A. (2019). De-globalization: Theories, predictions, and opportunities for international business research. Journal of International Business Studies, 50(7), 1053–1077.
Young, M. N., Peng, M. W., Ahlstrom, D., Bruton, G. D., & Jiang, Y. (2008). Corporate governance in emerging economies: A review for the principal-principal perspective. Journal of Management Studies, 45(1), 196–220.
Zahra, S. A. (2005). Entrepreneurial risk taking in family firms. Family Business Review, 18(1), 23–40.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mendoza, X., Infantes, P.M., Parada, M.J., Rautiainen, M., Hohberger, J. (2023). Corporate Strategy in Family Business Groups in Developed Economies. In: Rautiainen, M., Parada, M.J., Pihkala, T., Akhter, N., Discua Cruz, A., Mukherjee, K. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Managing Family Business Groups. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13206-3_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13206-3_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-13205-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-13206-3
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)