¹Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Sección de Organización de Empresas, Madrid, Spain

Correspondence: María Jesús Nieto, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Sección de Organización de Empresas, C/ Madrid, 126, 28.903-Getafe, Madrid, Spain. Tel: +34 91 6245826; Fax: +34 91 6245707; E-mail: mnieto@emp.uc3m.es

Received 10 May 2002; Revised 9 May 2005; Accepted 11 July 2005; Published online 27 April 2006.

Abstract

This paper analyses the relationship between the internationalisation strategies of SMEs and types of ownership. Different types of ownership affect firms, and this in turn will influence the internationalisation strategy adopted. Using a sample of Spanish SMEs, our results show that internationalisation is negatively related to family ownership and positively related to corporate ownership. We have also observed that the presence of a corporate blockholder in family firms encourages internationalisation. These results support the idea that ownership type influences the decision to internationalise.