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Introduction
Family businesses are a dominant organisational form worldwide and play a critical role in shaping employment, investment and long-term regional development (Hu and Hughes, 2020; Rondi et al., 2018; De Massis et al., 2018). They are also key participants in cross-border activity (Arregle et al., 2021; Mostafiz et al., 2024). Recent studies show that internationalisation by family-controlled businesses is pervasive enough to affect aggregate patterns of global competition, rather than being a marginal exception (e.g., Rondi et al., 2022). Existing research has paid great attention to examining whether and to what extent family involvement alters the degree, speed, and performance of internationalisation (e.g., Arregle et al., 2017; Kampouri et al., 2025). In contrast, the marketing dimension of family businesses’ international activity, in terms of how the family imprint travels to foreign customers and channels, remains comparatively underdeveloped in the literature.
International marketing can be the arena where family-specific goals, resources, and constraints can directly shape how the firm presents its brand, selects channels, and serves customers abroad. Family socioemotional wealth (SEW) concerns around control, reputation, social ties, and harmony through generations shape how firms frame and deliver value abroad (Berrone et al., 2012; Gómez-Mejía et al., 2007, 2010; Zellweger et al., 2012). These concerns are salient in international settings that often entail shared control, external scrutiny and new governance demands (Calabro et al., 2016; Cesinger et al., 2016; Xu & Hitt, 2020). As a result, family businesses frequently favour incremental, low-commitment paths that rely on trusted networks before undertaking international investments (e.g., irreversible marketing investment), with implications for market selection, positioning and channel configuration (Pukall & Calabrò, 2013; Gallo & Sveen, 1991; Graves et al., 2022). Also, when they do commit, families prefer to screen partners and locations for reputational fit and legal quality, and are willing to pay premia to secure brand safety–choices that reverberate through branding architecture and communication strategy in host markets (Astrachan et al., 2018; Requejo et al., 2018; Rienda et al., 2019; Haider et al., 2021). Stewardship norms further influence employment and CSR communications across borders, shaping how businesses cultivate legitimacy with foreign stakeholders (Block, 2010; van Essen et al., 2015; Cirillo et al., 2022a). At the same time, family businesses navigating new markets face a liability of outsidership; effective signalling (e.g., heritage cues, third-party certifications and endorsements) can help convert domestic reputation into host-market acceptance (Johanson & Vahlne, 2009; Calabrò et al., 2016; Carney & Dieleman, 2024). Building on these insights and the emerging call to study “family multinationals” from an international marketing vantage point (Rondi et al., 2022), this special issue invites research that places international marketing at the centre of the conversation on family-business internationalisation by connecting SEW-driven choices, institutional contexts and customer-facing outcomes in foreign markets.
International Marketing practices in Family Business
Research on family business branding shows that communicating the family nature of the business can generate perceptions of authenticity and trust (Ranfagni et al., 2021), enhancing purchase intentions and customer loyalty (Beck & Prügl, 2018; Lude & Prügl, 2018; Van Gils et al., 2019; Zanon et al., 2019). Consumers often infer that family business brands are more honest, responsible, and long-term oriented than non-family rivals, especially when the family narrative is integrated into the brand identity and communication (Bargoni et al., 2023). At the same time, scholarly work warns that mere family ownership is insufficient, and the performance effects of family involvement depend heavily on whether and how firms adopt explicit family-based branding strategies, including in international markets (Beck et al., 2020; Gallucci et al., 2015).
Family businesses’ distinct goals and time horizons further differentiate their marketing strategies. Building on behavioural agency theory, family owners place particular weight on family control, identity, and legacy, which shape risk preferences in ways that spill over into marketing (Arregle et al., 2017; De Massis et al., 2018; Gómez-Mejía et al., 2007; Ireland et al., 2025). In an international marketing context, this can lead family businesses to prioritize reputation preservation, relational stability, and intergenerational trust over short-term sales maximization, resulting in more patient investments in customer relationships, cautious product diversification, or conservative communication styles. Such the strategic orientation can provide resilience, for instance, by maintaining or even deepening customer-facing activities during downturns to “protect” the firm’s legacy and stakeholder ties (Calabrò et al., 2021; Hu et al., 2023), but it may also make them slower to adjust their marketing strategies in rapidly changing foreign markets (Gallucci et al., 2015).
Resource endowments and governance structures also shape family businesses’ marketing behaviour. Smaller and mid-sized family businesses often rely on lean management teams and informal decision-making, which can foster agility and close customer contact but may limit the adoption of advanced marketing analytics, professional brand management, or sophisticated digital tools (Beliaeva et al., 2022; Frank et al., 2012). For instance, non-family businesses might, on average, be more willing to bring in external marketing experts and experiment with novel approaches, whereas some family businesses favour intuition-based, path-dependent practices anchored in the founding generation’s experience (Hu et al., 2023). However, when family businesses successfully combine their relational strengths and local legitimacy with a strong market orientation and knowledge management capabilities (Mostafiz et al., 2021), they can match or outperform non-family competitors.
Importantly, these differences do not stop at national borders. Internationally active family businesses should decide how prominently to signal their familiness in foreign markets, how to adapt their brand stories to unfamiliar cultural contexts, and how to leverage family and diaspora networks for market development. Recent work on family business branding and consumer behaviour shows that perceptions of family business brands, including trust and “doing good”, are contextually contingent and may vary across countries and cultures (Bargoni et al., 2023; Jaufenthaler et al., 2025; Rondi et al., 2023). At the same time, internationalisation research reveals that family businesses can follow distinctive internationalisation paths, as sometimes more cautious and stepwise, sometimes surprisingly aggressive, depending on how families balance SEW preservation and growth aspirations (Debellis et al., 2024; Debellis et al., 2021). Yet, we still lack fine-grained empirical analyses of how these strategic trade-offs appear in concrete international marketing decisions (e.g., brand positioning, market selection, channel choice, or communication content); integrative frameworks that explain when and why family influence leads to particular marketing configurations and with what consequences for international competitiveness and societal outcomes.
Theoretically, there is considerable scope to bring together concepts from family business (e.g. socioemotional wealth, family identity, transgenerational intention) with core constructs in international marketing such as global brand architecture, standardization–adaptation strategies, international market orientation, and cross-cultural consumer response. For example, SEW motives may influence whether family businesses choose to foreground or downplay their family identity in different markets (Lude & Prügl, 2018; Zanon et al., 2019), yet we have limited theory on how this choice interacts with country-level culture or category norms to shape brand authenticity and trust. Likewise, family business scandals and crises suggest that the same family-based brand that generates goodwill can become a liability when reputational shocks occur (Magrelli et al., 2022; Rovelli et al., 2022), but we lack in-depth research on how families manage such risks in international settings.
Empirically, there is a pressing need for rigorous, multi-method, and time-lagged cross-national studies that unpack how family involvement shapes international marketing decisions and performance. Existing work shows, for example, that family business brands can enjoy a “trust premium” among consumers (Bargoni et al., 2023; Beck & Prügl, 2018), and that the communication of family involvement can be strategically calibrated across channels and audiences (Zanon et al., 2019). Yet, robust empirical evidence linking specific international marketing configurations (e.g. high vs. low family signalling; standardized vs. adapted family narratives; professional vs. informal marketing structures) to market-based outcomes (brand equity, customer-based brand equity, international sales growth, resilience in crises) remains scarce. Rich empirical work and case-study research can complement these efforts by illuminating the micro-processes through which families debate, negotiate, and implement marketing strategies, including intergenerational tensions and the role of non-family managers.
There is also a strong case for implication-driven research with clear managerial and policy relevance. Family business owners and leaders should decide, often with limited guidance, how to position their businesses in global markets: Should the family name be placed front and centre or kept behind the corporate brand? How can they professionalise marketing capabilities without undermining the personal, relational advantages that differentiate them? How should they manage social media, storytelling, and CSR communication when family members are highly visible? And how do these choices influence not only firm performance but also employment, community development, and stakeholder trust in different institutional contexts? Evidence-based answers to such questions are valuable both for practitioners and policymakers, and support organizations designing programs for internationally oriented family SMEs.
This special issue of International Marketing Review, therefore, seeks empirical papers that rigorously examine international and cross-cultural contexts. We welcome quantitative studies (e.g. large-scale surveys, experiments, archival and panel data) and qualitative and process studies (e.g. case studies, ethnographies, historical analyses) that develop new theoretical perspectives. We are not seeking general literature reviews or bibliometric analyses. Contributions should clearly articulate how family-specific characteristics shape international marketing phenomena and also should provide actionable implications for family business leaders and policymakers.
List of topic areas
Indicative themes. We invite submissions that engage with, but are not limited to, the following themes. The descriptions below are intentionally elaborated to signal the kinds of questions, tensions and contributions the special issue aims to attract.
1. Branding and identity strategies of international family businesses
We welcome studies on how family businesses design and manage their brands as they expand internationally. This includes work on family-based brand positioning, the role of heritage and "founding family" narratives, and the construction of global brand architectures that reconcile local authenticity with international consistency. Authors might ask, for example, under what conditions a strong family identity is an asset or a liability in foreign markets; how family businesses decide whether to foreground the family name or a more neutral corporate brand; and how identity changes across generations affect brand meaning and equity over time.
2. Consumer perceptions and behaviour toward family vs. non-family businesses across cultures
There is growing evidence that consumers often infer higher trust, warmth, and authenticity from family business brands, yet we know relatively little about how robust these inferences are across national cultures, product categories, or institutional contexts. We encourage research that examines how consumers in different countries interpret signals of family ownership and how these perceptions shape attitudes, word-of-mouth, and purchase intentions. Comparative work could explore whether the family business trust premium persists in industries (e.g. B2B and/or B2C) associated with high risk (e.g. financial), or where corporate professionalism is highly valued, and how social media, influencer marketing, and online reviews mediate these effects. Experimental designs, cross-cultural surveys, and digital trace data analyses are particularly welcome.
3. International market orientation, innovation, and digital marketing in family businesses
Family businesses are often conservative and less marketing-driven, yet empirical evidence is mixed and context-dependent. We invite contributions that scrutinise how international market orientation and marketing innovation actually operate in family businesses. Questions of interest include: How and why do family and non-family managers differ in their use of market intelligence and analytics for international decisions? Are next-generation family members catalysts for digital transformation in marketing (e.g. social media, e-commerce, data-driven personalisation)? Under what governance or resource conditions do family businesses adopt cutting-edge digital platforms, and when do they remain locked into traditional, relationship-based approaches? Studies might link specific marketing capabilities (e.g. digital content creation, customer relationship management systems) to international growth, export intensity, or foreign customer satisfaction, and examine the role of family influence in enabling or constraining their development.
4. Reputation management and communication in family multinationals
Reputation and socioemotional wealth concerns mean that many family businesses invest heavily in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and community engagement, often framing such efforts as part of the family legacy. We seek research that unpacks how these businesses strategically communicate CSR and stakeholder commitments in international markets, and how stakeholders interpret these branding messages. For example, does the combination of a family brand and strong CSR communication generate a reputational super-additivity in some contexts, or do stakeholders discount CSR efforts as self-serving legacy-building? Multi-stakeholder perspectives (consumers, employees, NGOs, local communities) and longitudinal designs would be particularly insightful.
5. International operational mode choices, channels, and international marketing configuration in family businesses
Internationalisation research has shown that family businesses often deviate from canonical incremental paths, sometimes being more cautious, sometimes surprisingly bold depending on how families balance risk and control. We encourage work that reinterprets entry mode and channel decisions explicitly through a marketing lens. For instance: Do family businesses prefer modes that preserve relational selling and high control over brand experience rather than arms-length intermediaries? How do family and non-family businesses differ in their reliance on diaspora networks, kinship ties, or long-standing distributors for foreign market development? How do these configurations affect brand consistency, customer service quality, and responsiveness to local market demands? How do family businesses overcome outsider status, such as the liability of outsidership (or is there any advantage of outsidership) in international market? Empirical research that links entry mode configurations to specific marketing outcomes (e.g. brand equity, customer-based performance) would be highly valuable.
6. Governance, professionalisation, and the role of non-family managers and boards in shaping international marketing of family business
Family business governance structures, such as the presence of family vs. non-family CEOs, independent directors, and formalized marketing units, have profound implications for marketing decisions. We welcome studies that examine how different governance arrangements enable or constrain international marketing capabilities. Possible questions include: How does the appointment of a non-family chief marketing officer or international marketing director influence the firm's willingness to invest in new markets, digital campaigns, or brand repositioning? Under what conditions do boards challenge or reinforce family preferences regarding brand identity and market risk? How do family leaders and shareholder agreements shape the boundaries of marketing experimentation? Contributions might explore governance and marketing interaction using configurational approaches, multi-level models, or in-depth case studies that reveal the politics and processes behind marketing decisions.
7. Cultural, institutional, and regional contingencies in family business international marketing effectiveness
Family businesses operate within diverse cultural and institutional environments that may amplify or mute the advantages of familiness in international marketing. We seek research that explicitly theorizes and tests how country-level culture (e.g. individualism vs collectivism, uncertainty avoidance), institutional quality (e.g. rule of law, media freedom), and regional logics (e.g. industrial districts, clusters) condition the effectiveness of family-based international marketing strategies. For instance, does signalling family ownership yield stronger trust among consumers effects in high-corruption or low-trust environments, where personal ties are valued, than in highly institutionalized international markets? Are family businesses in emerging economies more reliant on relational marketing and informal networks for export development than those in advanced economies, and how does this shape brand-building trajectories? Cross-country comparative designs and multi-level analyses are particularly encouraged.
8. Global crisis, scandals, and responses in family-branded international marketing operation
Because family name and identity are tightly bound to the firm, crises and scandals can have outsized reputational consequences. At the same time, strong relational capital and community ties may provide a buffer that facilitates forgiveness and recovery. We invite contributions that examine how family businesses communicate during crises (e.g. product recalls, ethical violations, succession disputes) in the international market and how stakeholders interpret these messages in domestic and foreign markets. Key questions include: Do family businesses adopt distinct crisis narratives (e.g. emphasizing remorse, stewardship, or family unity) for re-branding? How do different generations within the family influence crisis communication strategies? Is the same "family story" effective across cultural contexts when brand reputational damage occurs? Longitudinal studies, text and sentiment analysis of media or social media, and experimental work on consumer reactions to crisis messages are all welcome.
9. Methodological advancement for studying international marketing in family businesses
Finally, we encourage submissions that advance the methodological toolkit for studying international marketing in family business contexts.
We, therefore, welcome:
a) Multi-source and multi-level datasets linking family-level, firm-level, and international market-level information;
b) Innovative uses of digital trace data (e.g. websites, social media, online reviews) to capture family signaling and brand narratives in the international market;
c) Configurational approaches (e.g. fsQCA) that explore combinations of family characteristics and international marketing practices; and
d) Advanced non-linear research design (e.g. natural experiments) to unpack the sophisticated effects of family influence on international marketing outcomes.
Such methodological contributions should not be purely technical; they should demonstrate how improved methods generate substantive new insights for theory and practice in international marketing and family business.
Feedback opportunities prior to submission
Special session at the 2027 Global Marketing Conference in Tokyo in July 2027. For more information, please see the 2027 Global Marketing Conference website (link: tbc).
Presenting or attending this workshop/special session does not guarantee publication in the special issue, nor is it a prerequisite for publication in the special issue. This workshop/special session allows authors to refine their manuscripts before the formal double-blind review process.
Submissions Information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/imrev
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/imr
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Key deadlines
Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 01/03/2027
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 30/09/2027
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