From Local Roots to Global Reach: An Intergenerational Process of Family Firm Internationalization

Family firms are often portrayed as strongly anchored in their local roots, reflecting their long-term orientation and deep socioemotional ties to place and community. These local roots provide access to valuable place-based resources, support trust-based relationships, foster innovation, and reinforce a shared organizational identity. Despite their importance, limited research has examined how local roots are actively cultivated, preserved, and transformed across generations, particularly as family firms expand into international markets. This study explores the role of local roots in the internationalization of family firms through a longitudinal single-case study of House of Silk, a fourth-generation Italian family firm specializing in luxury tie production and historically rooted in Naples. The findings show that local roots are not merely inherited but are continuously enacted and reinterpreted during generational transitions through distinct practices and mechanisms. Building on these insights, we develop a process model of intergenerational local roots that illustrates how successive generations navigate the tension between maintaining strong local attachments and pursuing international growth opportunities. By conceptualizing local roots as a dynamic intergenerational process rather than a static legacy, this study contributes to the literature on family firms and internationalization and highlights the strategic role of local roots in enabling family firms to sustain competitiveness while scaling globally.