The role of IPO in internazionalization process of family business: the Italian case of the Burani family: I sit a black swan?

Considering the growth of global economy and the high competitiveness, the internationalization process seems to be more important for the 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 the internationalization. We try to contribute to the literature on the family business discussing some propositions and highlighting which are the main advantages but also the more significant costs and risks associated to the IPO as a tool for the internationalization. We argue these propositions through the use of a systematic research on the literature and through the case study on the Burani family.