Acquisitions, disclosed goals and firm characteristics: A content analysis of family and nonfamily firms

Despite the considerable body of research on acquisitions and their goals, we lack insights on how family firms differ from nonfamily firms in their acquisition goals, particularly in view of the characteristics that distinguish family businesses. Thus, to enhance current understanding, we examine firms’ disclosed goals in their deal announcements and find that firm ownership type is an important determinant of acquisition goals. Drawing on the content analysis of 558 deals from 393 firms, we identify seven goal categories. Our findings contextualize several differences in the goals of family and nonfamily firms, contributing to the family firm and acquisition literatures, offering implications for practice and potential avenues for future research

Is being conservative at home whilst taking risks abroad a suitable competitive strategy? The case of Spanish Family Firms internationalizing to Mexico

Family firms’ (FFs) importance for industrialized and developing countries and the growing competition has led to an increased interest in knowing how FFs develop their competitive strategies. Since FFs usually have a long-term vision when deciding how to compete, analyzing competitive strategies –usually linked with the long-term– makes even more sense. Furthermore, FFs’ behavior is especially interesting when they have been internationalized. Thus, the purpose of our study is to improve the understanding of the competitive strategies of FFs’ internationalizing to Mexico, namely exploitation (at a national level) and exploration (at international level). Briefly, a firm’s exploitation strategy is characterized by better-using firms’ existing resources and knowledge, whereas a firm’s exploration strategy involves exploring new ways of doing. Based on data collected from 81 CEOs of Spanish firms that have been internationalized to Mexico, we use partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. We conclude that FFs’ exploitation strategy (at a national level) has a positive impact on firms’ exploration strategy (at international level). In other words, being more efficient and leveraging current knowledge at a national level helps to pursue opportunities internationally actively