Family-owned multinational enterprises in the post-pandemic global economy

Abstract

Contractor (J Int Bus Stud, 2022) argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated changes in the world economy that had already started, and that the fundamental rationale for globalization remains. Although we agree with much of Contractor’s analysis and conclusions, we argue that in the case of large family-owned multinational enterprises (MNEs), international behavior after the pandemic is likely to be varied, reflecting the strategic persistence and the heterogeneity of the goals, governance, and resources of these firms compared to nonfamily firms. We therefore complement Contractor’s article by discussing why most large family MNEs will pursue strategies that are consistent with globalization, but some will pursue strategies that move them in the opposite direction.