Foreign market entry modes of family firms: A review and research agenda

Although research on foreign market entry mode choice is spread across various aspects and dimensions, a comprehensive review that accumulates the knowledge holistically in the context of family firms is sparse. To address this gap, the study systematically reviews 50 research articles and presents state-of-the-art literature for around three decades (1993–2021) by employing PRISMA and Theory – Context – Characteristics – Methodology (TCCM) framework. The objective of the study is to understand: (i) the theories that explain the factors affecting the entry mode choice of family firms (ii) the contexts (i.e. industries and countries) in which the underlying research has been investigated (iii) the characteristics or the factors (i.e. independent, moderating, and dependent variables) that explain the entry mode choice of family firms, and (iv) the methods that have been employed to understand the underlying research area. Based upon the review, the study set forth the future research agenda with respect to each of the dimensions of the TCCM framework. The study proposes a holistic framework offering the future direction to the research scholars, to explore - How "peculiar family firm characteristics" play a moderating role in determining the foreign market entry mode strategies of family firms?