Publications

04 Aug 2021
Video

Bouchamaoui family business

16 Jun 1998 - 19 Jun 1998
Conference Presentation

Families in Business

By: J. A. Davis

Keywords: Family Business

October 1997 (Revised September 2007)
Background Note

Business Family Dynamics

By: John A. Davis

Reprinted from John Davis. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Entrepreneurship

January 2001
Background Note

Responsibilities & Rights of Family Shareholders of a Family Business

By: John A. Davis

Describes the major responsibilities and rights of family shareholders of a family owned business. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Rights; Business and Shareholder Relations

August 2013 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Modern Family Planning: The Business of Circle Surrogacy

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Blake Landro

The business of surrogacy, a boutique practice with client costs upwards of $100,000, allowed couples and individuals from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and sexual orientations to build families. This case examines Circle Surrogacy (CS), one of the premier surrogacy... View Details

Keywords: Family Planning; Platform; Competitive Advantage; Law; Globalization; Competitive Strategy; Digital Platforms; United States; Ukraine

April 27, 2020
Article

A Crisis Playbook for Family Businesses

By: Josh Baron and Ben Francois

In a business crisis, the power of family business owners is magnified. Unlike public companies, which typically focus on maximizing shareholder value, family owners value objectives that usually go well beyond financial returns (e.g., family legacy, reputation). This... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Crisis Management; Family Ownership; Family and Family Relationships

Register to Read

04 Aug 2014
News

Market Basket Shows the Best and Worst of Family Business

October 2022
Case

An Heir with No Spare: The Deitch Family Office

By: Lauren Cohen and Grace Headinger

Joe and Matt Deitch, father and son, knew it was time to start their own family office. Matthew had recently joined his father at the family’s three enterprises, and they both realized that their family’s needs had grown increasingly complex over the years. In search... View Details

March 2007 (Revised October 2007)
Module Note

Negotiating Effectively in Family Business Systems

By: Deepak Malhotra and John A. Davis

Explores how families in business can apply five principles of negotiation that are used effectively by non-family members. The distinctive characteristics of family relationships and of family business systems--which affect the use of these principles--are described. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Negotiation; Family Ownership

02 Oct 2016
Blog Post

Peek Weekend: The Family Business Cohort

sporadically since then, starting with small tasks when I was younger and growing into larger roles like 2D and 3D design now that I’m a senior design student at the University of Cincinnati. With graduation in sight, I was contemplating long-term goals and how my... View Details

September 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Carrie Wang: Choosing Between the Family Firm and the Family Spirit

By: Lauren Cohen, Fei Wu and Sophia Pan

Carrie Wang, Investment Head of the Wang’s single-family office, contemplated her next career steps. As one of the first businessmen who had risen from China’s industrial rise, her father had grown his wealth to a considerable level, eventually requesting that his... View Details

Keywords: Family Office; Investment; Interests Of Consumers; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Financial Markets; Investment Portfolio; Investment Return; Private Equity; Customer Relationship Management; Interests; Reputation; Real Estate Industry; China

July 2005 (Revised February 2007)
Exercise

Family Business System Action Planning Worksheet

By: John A. Davis

Assist in thinking critically about facilitators and inhibitors to goals and preparing for change in a family business system. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Change Management; Goals and Objectives; Organizational Change and Adaptation

April 2023
Case

Burning the Sails to Save the Ship: The Pilati Family Dilemma

By: Lauren Cohen, Hao Gao, Jiawei Ye and Grace Headinger

Octavian Graf Pilati, rising generation member of an Austrian princely family, prepared to sell the palace his family had held for over three hundred years. In recent years, the Pilati family lands had been leveraged as loan collateral for an international venture that... View Details

Keywords: Family Office; Family; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Agribusiness; Family Business; Property; Identity; Culture; Ethics; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governance; Crisis Management; Family and Family Relationships; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Real Estate Industry; Austria

January 15, 2015
Article

Surviving in a Family Business When You're Not Part of the Family

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Navigating office politics in a family-owned business can be challenging for non-family executives. Based on experience with various business families worldwide, this article offers strategies for success:

Play in your room: Non-family executives should... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Employees; Problems and Challenges; Talent and Talent Management

Register to Read

July 2005 (Revised February 2007)
Background Note

Principles of Family Business System Change

By: John A. Davis

Identifies several practical principles to keep in mind when changing a family business system. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

January–February 2021
Article

Build a Family Business That Lasts

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Judging from how they’re portrayed in the media, it would be easy to dismiss family businesses as hotbeds of power-playing, backstabbing, and favor-currying, ultimately destined to fail; think of the Murdochs and News Corp, or the Redstones and National Amusements, to... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Success; Ownership Type; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Succession

Register to Read

July 2001 (Revised September 2001)
Background Note

Definitions and Typologies of the Family Business

By: John A. Davis

Introduces students to the wide variety of family business definitions in literature today. Also reviews prominent typologies of family business systems. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Body of Literature; System

August 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Background Note

Fundamentals of Family Business System Governance

By: John A. Davis

Reviews the purposes and ingredients in the governance (or steering) of a family business system. Explores at a high level the governance of the family business, its owners, and the family. Focuses on how these governance structures, processes, plans, and agreements... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Family Ownership