We are family! The role of family members' identification in the internationalization of family firms

When examining family firms' strategic decision-making processes, it is important to consider the role of nonfinancial goals and the preservation of socioemotional wealth (SEW). This study contributes to this discussion by integrating arguments from the SEW framework into the Uppsala internationalization model to investigate the importance of family emotional attachment factors in family firms' internationalization. Specifically, we analyze how the identification of family members with the firm influences its international activities, proposing that this influence is moderated by family involvement in the governance of the firm. The results show that the initial negative effect of family members' identification on firm internationalization turns positive with higher levels of family involvement in the board and longer CEO tenure.