Search results for "family SMEs"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
Network ties in the international opportunity recognition of family SMEs
2011
Abstract The importance of network ties is emphasized in the current literature on opportunity recognition. However, it is unclear how firms with limited bridging networks, such as family SMEs, recognize international opportunities through their network ties. In this case study we found that in gaining foreign market entry, those family SMEs that lack existing network ties recognize opportunities through weak ties formed in international exhibitions. The findings also indicate that rather than being proactive, family SMEs respond reactively to opportunities that emerge coincidentally. The trustfulness of the tie is important when they consider these opportunities and form new ties for inter…
Internationalization pathways among family-owned SMEs
2012
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the internationalization of family firms; to investigate how the framework by Bell et al. on the internationalization patterns of firms could explain the internationalization pathways taken by family‐owned small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs); and to identify typical patterns and features in the various pathways taken by family‐owned SMEs.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports findings from an in‐depth multiple case study with eight Finnish family‐owned SMEs.FindingsThe ownership structure had the most important role in defining the internationalization pathways followed by the family‐owned SMEs: a fragmented owners…
Social capital in relation to the foreign market entry and post-entry operation of family SMEs
2011
Scholars in the discipline of international entrepreneurship have mainly studied rapidly internationalizing firms. However, the majority of entrepreneurial firms are family-owned businesses (85% of all firms in the EU and the USA). Research on family business has focused on the importance of bonding social capital whereas, despite its importance, bridging social capital has not so far attracted much attention. It has been argued that bridging social capital plays an important role in firms’ internationalization processes. The purpose of this article is to examine the role of bridging social capital in the initial entry and post-entry operations of eight family SMEs with regard to the French…
Social capital in the international operations of family SMEs
2012
PurposeThe aim of this study is to discuss how social capital is developed in the internationalization process of small and medium‐sized family enterprises (family SMEs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports findings from an in‐depth multiple case study with four Finnish manufacturing family SMEs. The data were analyzed through the perspectives of structural holes, network closure, and the interplay between these two mechanisms.FindingsThe material in the paper demonstrated that family entrepreneurs had a large number of structural holes when launching international operations, but also after several years of running international operations. Instead of trying to span structural hol…
International opportunity recognition among small and medium-sized family firms
2011
Current research in the field of entrepreneurship emphasizes the importance of opportunity recognition as a key element in the entrepreneurial process. It has been recognized that network ties, activeness and alertness, and prior knowledge are related to how entrepreneurs recognize new opportunities. However, it is unclear how important these factors are when a firm explores opportunities for entry into a foreign market. In this exploratory case study, covering the international opportunity recognition of eight family-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we found that the firms in question mainly recognized international opportunities by establishing new formal ties rather than …
Network ties in the international opportunity recognition of family SMEs
2011
The importance of network ties is emphasized in the current literature on opportunity recognition. However, it is unclear how firms with limited bridging networks, such as family SMEs, recognize international opportunities through their network ties. In this case study we found that in gaining foreign market entry, those family SMEs that lack existing network ties recognize opportunities through weak ties formed in international exhibitions. The findings also indicate that rather than being proactive, family SMEs respond reactively to opportunities that emerge coincidentally. The trustfulness of the tie is important when they consider these opportunities and form new ties for internationali…