Growth through innovation and internationalization: Exploring family business identity through narrative analysis

The aim of this study is to deepen our knowledge of the 'dynamic virtuous circle' created by the interaction of innovation and internationalization through a qualitative study of a family business that has grown thanks to these two complementary strategies. Our preliminary narrative analysis of this case study allows us to illustrate how the organization's collective identity has evolved over time, through different individual voices that have provided their own point of view and interpretation, based on their values and experiences - thus shaping the organization's growth through innovation and internationalization. The evolving collective identity has been influenced by two types of factors: family-specific factors (low family goal diversity and high family cohesion) as well as access to external resources (presence of non-family members on the advisory board and presence of international networks, which allowed the family business to preserve its high socioemotional wealth). We argue that the idiosyncratic combination of these internal and external factors has contributed to creating a unique family business identity that has spurred the organization along its growth trajectory.