Purpose: This article analyses the Family Business (FB) within the process of globalization that has been taking place in recent decades.

Design / methodology / approach: To achieve this we undertake a description of the importance of FB in the global economy and contrast this with a systematic review of the academic literature, which demonstrates the growing academic interest in the internationalization of the FB.

Findings: The literature review highlights the importance of agency and stewardship theories when analyzing the aspects that affect the process of internationalization. These theoretical frameworks require a variety of assumptions and explain how ownership and control of an FB may explain different attitudes towards some short term risks, which could be due to FB politics of internationalization.

Research limitations / implications: Finally, we mark out future research lines which will focus on the effect the ownership structure has on the type of internationalization that is undertaken by the FB.