Internationalisation level, Distribution of Decision-Making Power and Alliance Formation: Evidence from the Italian Machine Tool Industry

We explore how internationalization-orientation and family business-configuration influence the propensity of Italian Machine Tool (MT) firms to sign strategic alliances. Starting from the industry sector analysis and literature review we propose a conceptual framework explaining alliance formation determinants. Our study uses the information provided by a representative sample of Italian MT firms. We argue and our data validate that the centralization of decision-making power acts as a moderator enhancing the positive effect of the internationalization on the firm inclination in signing agreements with other companies.