The Impact of Organizational Ambidexterity on the Family Firm Internationalization

Abstract

This study seeks to investigate the effect of organizational ambidexterity on the internationalization of family-controlled firms from emerging economies. Analysis of a balanced panel dataset of 130 publicly listed family firms in Taiwan spanning 16 years (2000 to 2015) reveals that family-controlled firms have a lower degree of internationalization than nonfamily-controlled firms, and that this relationship is moderated by the level of organizational ambidexterity. The results contribute to answer the question that how does family control influence the internationalization of firms and also help us better understand the contingency role of organizational ambidexterity. Furthermore, these findings show that organizational ambidexterity supports the internationalization of family-controlled firms.