This study analyzes the mediating effect of competitive strategy on international entrepreneurial orientation and international performance in family businesses by using two research methods: the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique (174 firms), and the fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) (25 firms). This dual methodological approach constitutes in itself a great contribution, allowing validating the robustness of the model, and, thanks to the fsQCA method, to overcome the shortcomings of the PLS-SEM. This study reveals that the influence of the international entrepreneurial orientation on international performance improves with the adoption of a competitive strategy, and that innovation is a necessary condition for competitive strategy to exert a mediating effect.