Family Businesses Invited to ECFB Dinner Discussion

Introduction
What happens when family firms’ next-generation take over and local markets are saturated? Family businesses are warmly invited to attend a round-table dinner meeting on Tuesday, 26 May to probe this question. The diner is hosted by the Erasmus Centre for Family Business (ECFB) and FBNed.

The ECFB, based at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) specialises in research, ideas and information concerning topics that really matter to family-run firms in the Netherlands and elsewhere. Each round-table meeting presents recent research that is discussed by researchers and their guests in an interactive manner. Guests are those who are currently leading family businesses, and those expecting to lead them in the future. May’s meeting will focus on the internationalisation issues in family businesses after the a generation steps down. The theme for this meeting is as follows:

Internationalisation of the family business: opportunities and risk factors
“When family businesses become a leading player in their local market, they discover growth opportunities beyond their national borders”, says prof.dr. Purset Heugens who will present research on this topic. “As first-generation family businesses often solely focus on opportunities in local markets, the internationalisation issue is especially relevant for the next generation of the family businesses. However, ECFB research found that especially family firms should not underestimate the process of internationalisation. Competitive advantages of family firms are generally situated in factors that are more locally orientated compared to similar non-family firms. Moreover, some international markets are receptive to welcome family firms whereas in others aversion against family firms dominates”.

During this round-table meeting a number of questions will be addressed. What specific challenges do family firms experience when they are in the process of internationalisation? Which national context offer the biggest opportunities for businesses run by families? Which specific risk factors do next generation leaders of family firms face?

• A limited number of places are available for family business members wishing to join the dinner and debate