Justifying International Growth in Spanish Family Wineries and Olive Oil Mills

Abstract

This article examines the mediating effect of economic motivations on the relationship between family involvement and the growth-oriented made decisions. Besides, it analyses the moderating effect of internationalisation in this relationship as one strategic alternative to achieve that business growth. Family businesses possess features that set them apart from other types of businesses and influence on the establishment of objectives, in the selection of strategies and the decision-making process. Therefore, their desire to achieve long-term growth and/or survival could be motivated by reasons that differ from those of non-family businesses. Internationalisation is a possible strategy for achieving these long-term objectives. The developed empirical study is quantitative research based on the Partial Least Squares (PLS) methodology. The study population comprises Small Spanish wine and olive oil producers companies. Study results show that economic motivations affect the relationship between family involvement in the business and achievement of business growth. Likewise, we find that, depending on their international propensity as moderating variable, the mediation effect of the underlying business economic motivations is total for non-international firms, whereas that effect is a partial one if the firms have become international. Additionally, there is a moderation of internationalisation, with a total mediation of economic motivations in Spanish wineries, not occurring in the case of olive oil mills, where there is a partial mediation. In the decision-making process of high family involvement business, the economic motivations should be taken into account to achieve business growth from the development of the internationalisation strategy. These economic motivations could be as relevant as other non-economic motivations to guarantee the continuity of the family nature of the business, especially when the firms belong to the Spanish wine sector.