The Role of IPO in Internationalization Process of Family Business. The Italian Case of the Burani Family. Is it a Black Swan?

Considering the growth of global economy and the high competitiveness internationalization process seems to be more important for family businesses. The internationalization theories are often related to the most appropriate tool for their feasibility. Also internationalization strategies need high financial resources that small family businesses often do not possess. The aim of this paper is to show a grey area in the intersection between the studies on family businesses’ IPO and internationalization. We try to contribute to the literature on family business discussing some propositions and highlighting which are the main advantages and the more significant costs associated to the IPO as a tool for internationalization. We argue these propositions through the use of a systematic research on literature and through the case study on the Burani family.