The Revival Of Family Business In China - Publications - Faculty & Research

October 2024
Case

Sacoor Brothers: From Co-Family CEOs to No Family CEOs?

By: Lauren Cohen, David Ager and Alpana Thapar

Sacoor Brothers, a luxury clothing retail company, was founded in 1989 in Lisbon, Portugal, by four brothers—Malik, Salim, Rahimo, and Moez. After establishing a strong presence in Portugal, the brothers were drawn to the rapidly growing retail markets in the Middle... View Details

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23 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

The Gulf: It’s a Family Affair

A conversation with John Davis, author of "Challenges Facing Family Companies in the Gulf Region" Family... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild & Andrea Schulman

February 2009 (Revised September 2009)
Supplement

Yahoo! in China (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Daniel Baer

Describes the actions that Jerry Yang took to manage the aftermath of the Shi Tao incident following the 2007 Congressional hearing. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Policy; Government Legislation; Crisis Management; Business and Government Relations; Internet; Information Technology Industry; China; United States

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November 2007 (Revised September 2010)
Background Note

The Rong Family: A Chinese Business History

By: Elisabeth Koll

Provides the complex historical background to understanding the development of family businesses in China from the late 19th century to the present. Using the example of the Rong family, China's most prominent industrialist family in pre-1949 China, analyzes the... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Business History; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Alliances; Business and Government Relations; Social and Collaborative Networks; China

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Web

Influence of the China Trade and the Heard Legacy - A Chronicle of the China Trade

of the China Trade Introduction Doing Business with China Augustine Heard & Co. The... View Details

October 1997 (Revised July 1998)
Case

Graham Family and the Washington Post Company, The

The Washington Post is now headed up by its fourth family member in three generations. The Graham family has somehow transcended the problems and pitfalls that overtake so many family-owned and operated businesses. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Success; Journalism and News Industry; District of Columbia

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December 3, 2014
Article

Family Businesses Need One Person to Conquer and Another One to Rule

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

This article explores the different leadership styles needed in family businesses beyond the traditional "conqueror" archetype. While conquerors are growth-focused and hands-on, rulers are essential for managing complexity, focusing on governance, and addressing family... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Family Business; Management Skills

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Clubs

Greater China Club

17 Jun 2011
HBS Case

KFC’s Explosive Growth in China

different, not by being the same. In the Harvard Business School case "Yum! China," professor David E. Bell and Agribusiness Program... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Food & Beverage

December 2010 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Yum! China

By: David E. Bell and Mary Shelman

Since the first KFC opened in China in 1987, Yum--under Sam Su's leadership--had built the largest restaurant company by far in mainland China. Averaging one new restaurant opening a day for the past five years, in 2010 Yum ran over 3,600 restaurants in 650 cities and... View Details

Keywords: Business Processes; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategy; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Beijing Shi

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November 6, 2017
Article

The Common Traps of Working in Your Family's Business

By: Josh Baron

When your family’s name is on the door, you will never just be one of the gang — and everything you do could be fodder for the office rumor mill. Your actions are amplified because of your status in the company, and even seemingly small gestures can unintentionally... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Attitudes; Behavior; Personal Development and Career; Mission and Purpose

September 26, 2022
Article

Is Your Family Office Built for the Future?

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Family offices can provide a number of benefits, including privacy, customization, and having your own team to handle a wide range of services, such as guiding family philanthropy, managing shared properties, or even managing household help. Successful principals in... View Details

Keywords: Business Offices; Family and Family Relationships

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Forthcoming
Article

Government, Business and Making China an Educational Powerhouse Since the 1980s

By: Geoffrey Jones, Yuan Jia-Zheng, Yuhai Wu and Qianru Wang

This article examines how China successfully built a highly competent K-12 education system since the 1980s achieving high literacy rates, broad basic education and gender equality. It argues that this success was driven by a strategy of blending public and private... View Details

Keywords: Early Childhood Education; Secondary Education; Literacy; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Business and Government Relations; Policy; Education Industry; China

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15 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Managing the Family Business: It Takes a Village

Editor's note: This is the first of occasional columns on managing the family business written by Senior Lecturer... View Details

Web

Leading a Family Business - Course Catalog

global employment. They range in size from the corner store to the conglomerate, and include industry leaders in many sectors. Most View Details

19 Oct 1997 - 20 Oct 1997
Conference Presentation

Challenges Facing Family Companies in the Gulf Region

By: J. A. Davis, E. Pitts and K. Cormier

Keywords: Family Business; Local Range; Problems and Challenges; Mexico, Gulf of

Citation

01 Dec 2015
News

Accelerating Research in China

(L to R) Ke Wei, Julia Yang, Will Plummer, Jing Hong, James Qin, Grace Ge, and Tim Wang (all MBA 2005) are contributors to the MBA Class of 2005 Fund for China From his... View Details

12 PM – 1 PM EDT, 16 Oct 2014
Webinars: Trending@HBS

Can China Lead?

Can China sustain its remarkable emergence of the past 35 years? Surely No, for multiple reasons. China will be a leader, but not the leader. Professor McFarlan will talk about both the challenges and opportunities for those seeking to do business with and within China... View Details

September 2023
Technical Note

Note on Family Constitutions

By: Christina R. Wing

Less than half of family businesses will survive generational transfer. While sometimes this is due to operating company issues, in many cases it is because of conflict within the family. Many families create and adopt a family constitution to proactively mitigate... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Policy; Organizational Structure; Family Ownership; Conflict Management; Agreements and Arrangements

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