Taking the international route: Investigating the impact of socioemotional wealth dimensions on family firm performance via internationalisation

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the article is to analyse the mediating effect of internationalisation between socioemotional wealth (SEW) dimensions and family firm performance. Research Design & Methods: The study is quantitative and uses a survey method. A sample of 303 family firms was surveyed from four cities in Pakistan. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to assess the relationship between the SEW dimensions and firm performance with internationali-sation as the mediating variable. Findings: The findings revealed that internationalisation has a partial mediation with four dimensions of SEW and firm performance. Moreover, the authors propose that the dimensions of SEW in themselves are not negative or positive, but rather their effect becomes such when interacting with certain variables. Implications & Recommendations: The study guided family firm owner-managers to leverage the positive effect of some dimensions of SEW while resolving the negative impact of other dimensions for firm’s growth and success. Contribution & Value Added: The study used the individual dimensions of socioemotional wealth from the FIBER scale in contrast to single proxies and higher-order composite SEW construct to analyse the impact of each dimension on firm performance via the mediating effect of internationalisation.