Internationalization of Australian Family Businesses: A Managerial Capabilities Perspective

Abstract

Successful international expansion requires the managerial capabilities necessary to configure and leverage a firm's resources in the international marketplace. Because family firms can face unique challenges in building their managerial capabilities, the purpose of this study is to compare the managerial capabilities of family and nonfamily firms according to the degree of their internationalization. Using the most recently available longitudinal database of Australian small-to-medium-sized enterprises, the results of this study indicate that the managerial capabilities of family firms lag behind those of their nonfamily counterparts as they expand internationally, particularly at high levels of internationalization. The implications of the findings for research, policy, and practice are discussed.