The Effects of Family Ownership, Involvement and Control on Internationalization of SMEs

[[abstract]]中小企業若未進行國際化，則可能承受一定程度的風險。一般而言，企業可以透過國際化來創造以及維持其競爭力。中小企業，特別是那些位於規模較小的經濟體(如台灣)，若未進行國際化，則可能喪失其競爭優勢，進而不利於企業的經營績效。由於貿易與投資的藩籬漸漸減少，再加上通訊技術與交通的快速發展，企業(包括中小企業)可以在任何地點、任何時間與任何人進行交易往來。不過，中小企業仍然面臨著投入國際市場的困難。所以，本研究特別針對家族持股、涉入以及控制等因素，探討其對中小企業國際化決策之影響。本研究以台灣上市電子中小企業為研究對象，實證結果顯示，家族持股與國際化之間呈負相關，但不顯著。另外，國際化與家族涉入之間呈顯著負相關，與家族控制呈顯著正相關。此研究發現隱含著，家族持股與家族控制對中小企業之國際化決策具有影響力。因此，在進行相關議題時，應該納入考量。[[abstract]]Internationalization may enhance a firm’s competitiveness and achieve long-run profitability. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) without going internationally may lose their competitive advantages, especially when their home markets are small, as in the case of Taiwan where is a small open economy. Since the decline in barriers to trade and investment and the use of efficient communication technology and transportation have greatly improved opportunities for a company to do business anywhere and with anyone, firm size should not be a restriction. However, it still remains difficult for many SMEs to go internationally. Therefore, this study specifically interested in exploring the effects of family ownership, involvement and control on corporate internationalization decision of SMEs. Using a panel of Taiwanese electronic SMEs during 2004-2007, the empirical result indicates that family ownership is related to internationalization negatively, but insignificantly. The result also documents a negative and significant relationship between family involvement and internationalization. Moreover, there is a positive and significant relationship between family control and internationalization. The evidence implicates that family ownership and family control exert a significant influence on corporate decision to internationalize, and therefore cannot be ignored when studying SME internationalization decision.[[note]]NSC98-2410-H327-02