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PurposeThis paper has as its aim to research the factors affecting the risk perceived by family firm executives in relation to international activity.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines the factors which can modify risk perception, placing special emphasis on those arising from the coincidence of ownership and management in family businesses.FindingsFocus on the international commitment assumed by family firms and using a sample of 92 Spanish family companies, this paper shows that risk perception decreases with the presence of the first generation and the size of these organisations. Additionally, it has been found that the risk perceived is higher when the firm advances in its international commitment level.Practical implicationsIf family firms know the factors which can affect the risk perceived about international activity, they will stand a better chance to handle them properly with a view to move forward in their internationalisation process.Originality/valueAn effort is made in this paper to deal with the risk perception associated with international activity in family firms, an issue treated in a small number of research works so far.

China's growing economic importance has led to a significant increase in the volume of empirical research about business and management in this country during the last few years. This study reviews the 180 empirical papers focusing on the Chinese context that were published in 12 leading international academic journals between 2000 and 2005. A summary of the methodologies used and the topics analysed is offered, along with various rankings of journals, authors, institutions, and papers.

One of the most important issues in the study of the internationalisation process is the choice of market entry strategy, which can be linked to the degree of international commitment. We have chosen to address this aspect in this paper by undertaking case studies of family firms, located in the province of Alicante (Spain), that belong to the most internationalised sectors in the region. The results obtained show that this group of firms follow the propositions laid down by the Uppsala model and that the age, size and generation of the family firm significantly influence the establishment of international, strategic alliances.

In recent years, there is an increasing number of papers focusing on the internationalisation process of Indian multinationals (MNCs). However, there is still a gap in understanding the determinants of their outward foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions.Thus, this paper analyses the factors influencing the choice between FDI modes by Indian firms. Our findings show that industry technological intensity, host country risk, host market attractiveness, previous international experience and the volume of exports from India to the host country, are determining factors of the choice between acquisitions and greenfields.