Description or Abstract

Research Questions and Objectives

Family businesses from emerging markets are increasingly pursuing regional expansion and strategic internationalization to diversify their activities, increase resilience, and reduce dependency on domestic markets. This research centers on a distinguished Moroccan family-owned enterprise specializing in manufacturing and consumer goods, which has systematically developed a sophisticated internationalization strategy spanning both African regional markets and global economic landscapes. The study aims to provide a comprehensive analytical exploration of the processes, strategic considerations, and organizational dynamics that support progressive business expansion. Specifically, the research seeks to address the following critical research questions:

• What motivational factors led to pursue international growth in African markets?

• How does CEO manage its family governance model while adapting to diverse African business environments?

• What significant operational, institutional, and strategic challenges emerged during phased international expansion across different geographical and institutional landscapes?

Theoretical Background

This case study draws upon a multifaceted theoretical framework to comprehensively analyze internationalization strategy. The Uppsala model of internationalization provides a foundational perspective, explaining firms' gradual market expansion through incremental learning and experiential knowledge accumulation (Johanson & Vahlne, 1977). Critically, the model introduces the concept of psychic distance (Ojala and Tyrvainen, 2009), a nuanced construct that captures the cognitive, cultural, and institutional distances between home and host markets, rather than mere geographical proximity.

Dynamic capabilities theory emerges as a crucial element for understanding the firm's adaptive strategies and international operation entry modes (Teece et al., 1997). The firm's ability to identify, assess, and respond to market opportunities demonstrates the dynamic capability framework's core principles.

The network approach provides additional insights, emphasizing the critical role of local partnerships and informal institutional networks in emerging markets (Johanson and Mattson, 1988). The firm’s strategic collaborations with local distributors and carefully selected joint ventures underscore the importance of embedded relational networks where trust often come after formal legal mechanisms.

Socioemotional wealth (SEW) theory offers a unique perspective on family business internationalization strategies (Gomez-mejia et al., 2007; Berrone, Cruz and Gomez-Mejia, 2012). The firm’s approach demonstrates a delicate balance between financial objectives and non-economic goals, preserving family control and legacy through strategic oversight and direct involvement in decision-making. Unlike depersonalized multinational corporations, the firm maintains a distinctive approach that prioritizes identity preservation and long-term strategic orientation.

The resource-based view (RBV) further enriches our understanding by highlighting how the firm leverages its internal capabilities (Wernerfelt, 1984). The firm's competitive advantage stems from its distinctive resources, including manufacturing expertise, strong brand equity, and efficient logistics systems. Rather than competing solely on price, The firm differentiates itself through product quality, innovation, and market responsiveness (Helfat et al., 2023), particularly in its core sectors of furniture, foam, and bedding.

Methodology and Research Design

This qualitative case study employs a documentary and comparative research methodology to investigate the firm’s internationalization process. The research design strategically leverages publicly available sources, including journalistic articles, corporate communications, and secondary market reports, to construct a comprehensive analytical narrative of the firm's cross-border expansion.

The empirical investigation focuses on The firm’s operational experiences in three strategically selected African markets: Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, and Kenya. These contexts were purposively chosen to capture geographic, linguistic, and economic diversity, enabling a rich comparative analysis that transcends simplistic linear narratives of international business expansion. By examining these distinct national contexts, the research seeks to illuminate the complex interplay between organizational strategy, institutional environments, and family business internationalization processes.

The analytical framework is structured around critical thematic axes that provide a systematic approach to understanding the firm’s international strategy. These thematic dimensions include a detailed examination of entry modes, governance decisions, operational challenges, and strategic adaptations encountered during the firm's African expansion. This approach allows for a nuanced interpretation of the firm's internationalization journey, revealing the subtle mechanisms through which a family business navigates the intricate landscape of cross-border market engagement.

Through this methodological approach, the study aims to generate sophisticated insights into the strategic logic and organizational dynamics that underpin family business internationalization in emerging market contexts.

Findings:

The firm’s African expansion was initially motivated by market saturation in Morocco and the ambition to secure a pan-African industrial footprint. The firm identified a strong demand in sub-Saharan Africa for high-quality, affordable manufactured goods, particularly in home furnishing and industrial components. Its choice of countries was influenced by market size, ease of doing business, trade agreements, and political stability.

In West Africa, the firm began with export-driven market testing before shifting to local distribution partnerships. This low-commitment entry mode allowed it to understand consumer preferences and regulatory conditions. Over time, the firm expanded its footprint through franchising and co-investment in logistics infrastructure. In Côte d’Ivoire, for instance, the firm leveraged a growing middle class and urban development to promote its furniture and foam products.

In East Africa, particularly in Kenya, the firm adopted a more ambitious model. It created a local subsidiary with full operational capacity, including warehousing, distribution, and localized marketing. The firm aimed to position itself as a long-term industrial partner, signaling a shift from opportunistic exports to embedded presence. This model required significant investment in talent recruitment, legal compliance, and institutional engagement.

Throughout its expansion, the firm faced multiple challenges: currency volatility, customs procedures, fragmented logistics, and varying consumer behavior. However, the company navigated these obstacles by appointing experienced regional managers, building strong relationships with local authorities, and investing in supply chain resilience. Family oversight remained central, with top management in Casablanca closely monitoring each regional development.

Originality and Scholarly Contribution

This research makes a distinctive scholarly contribution through its comprehensive analysis of a Moroccan family business's strategic internationalization across African markets. While the extant internationalization literature predominantly focuses on North-South investment flows or multinational corporation strategies, this study offers a nuanced investigation of an emerging South-South strategic paradigm characterized by cultural proximity, regional strategic ambitions, and experiential learning processes. The firm’s empirical case provides valuable insights into the sophisticated mechanisms through which African enterprises can systematically develop cross-border operational capabilities while preserving the integrity of family-centered governance structures.

The study further illuminates a distinctive hybrid internationalization logic that transcends conventional theoretical categorizations. While manifesting the characteristic risk-sensitivity and control-orientation typically associated with family enterprises, the firm demonstrates remarkable strategic adaptability through its deployment of diversified market entry configurations—ranging from graduated export strategies and collaborative joint ventures to wholly-owned subsidiary establishments. This strategic flexibility enables the organization to respond effectively to heterogeneous country-specific institutional environments without compromising its foundational identity or established governance paradigm. Such findings contribute substantially to the theoretical discourse on family business internationalization by revealing the complex interplay between preservation of organizational essence and adaptive strategic evolution in cross-cultural business contexts.

Theoretical, Managerial, and Social Implications

From a theoretical standpoint, this case study offers a significant contribution to the family business internationalization literature by developing an integrated framework that synthesizes socioemotional wealth theory with institutional and resource-based perspectives. The research illuminates how family enterprises navigate the complex tension between preserving core identity and adapting to diverse institutional environments. The firm’s internationalization trajectory demonstrates that family firms often pursue non-linear expansion patterns, strategically alternating between cautious incrementalism and decisive market penetration when environmental conditions align with organizational capabilities. This nuanced approach extends current theoretical understanding by revealing the dynamic interplay between family governance mechanisms and strategic decision-making in cross-border contexts.

Managerially, the study generates valuable insights for family enterprises pursuing regional or continental expansion strategies. The firm’s experience underscores the critical importance of sophisticated market selection methodologies, adaptive entry mode configurations, and governance continuity as fundamental pillars for successfully navigating Africa's heterogeneous business landscapes. The case illustrates how judicious professionalization of local operations, when balanced with centralized strategic oversight, can effectively maintain brand integrity and organizational value consistency across diverse institutional environments. These findings provide actionable strategic frameworks for family businesses seeking to expand beyond their domestic markets while preserving their distinctive organizational character.

From a social impact perspective, The firm’s expansion strategy manifests substantial developmental implications through employment generation, technological diffusion, and enhanced regional economic integration. The firm's demonstrated commitment to establishing sustainable long-term operations across African markets aligns with Morocco's broader geopolitical vision of South-South cooperation and inclusive economic development. By successfully transplanting a sophisticated model of family entrepreneurship that harmoniously integrates traditional values with innovative business practices, the firm contributes to a transformative reconfiguration of perceptions regarding African business capabilities and competitiveness in the global marketplace.

Keywords

Family business, internationalization, Africa, Morocco, governance, South-South strategy, regional expansion

Department

Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Program

MENA Family Business Research Conference

Performance Date

2025-10-25

Content Type

Conference Proceeding

File Type

Transcript

Language

eng

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