Publications

24 Sep 2003 - 27 Sep 2003
Conference Presentation

Leadership in Family Business

By: J. A. Davis

Keywords: Leadership; Family Business

25 Apr 2016
Blog Post

Attending HBS to Grow the Family Business

As a kid, Lauren Derse (MBA 2010) hit the family business jackpot. Her mom was the CEO and founder of—you guessed it—a chain of toy store franchises. After growing up in small town Massachusetts (and thriving in her role as resident toy... View Details

July 2005
Case

Family Governance at the Cousin Consortium Stage

By: John A. Davis and Courtney Sampson

Explains the governance system for the Eddy family, who own the Port Blakely Companies. Provides the viewer with an inside look at the running of the family council and family assembly meetings. Also provides a brief history and overview of the forestry and real estate... View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Governance; Business History; Business or Company Management; Family Ownership

13 Aug 2014
News

Family Businesses Need Entrepreneurs for Long-Run Success

24 Oct 2016
Video

A Bright Future for Chinese Family Firms

October 2005 (Revised February 2007)
Background Note

Negotiating Your Entry into Your Family Business

By: John A. Davis

Provides guidance to junior generation members of a business family concerning negotiating their entry into their family's business. View Details

Keywords: Family Business

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

Register to Read

01 Mar 2010
News

Students Assist Needy Family

A Boston family threatened with homelessness got a financial lift from more than seventy HBS students just before Thanksgiving. In response to an e-mail campaign launched by roommates Grace Simmons and Jennifer Kelm (both HBS ’10), their... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

December 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Ben Fiorentino: Selling the Family Business

The caseescribes the challenges Ben Fiorentino, the second-generation head of a family-run equipment business, must deal with as he decides whether and how to sell the business. The business is encountering classic problems that confront family-owned firms: The third... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Negotiation; Business Exit or Shutdown; Management Teams; Agency Theory

September 2011 (Revised November 2011)
Case

CP Group: Balancing the Needs of a Family Business with the Needs of a Family of Businesses

By: William C. Kirby and Tracy Yuen Manty

As a second generation business leader, Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont took over the family agribusiness company and built it to become a major diversified conglomerate in Thailand and expanded the business in SE Asia and China. While growing the business, he and his... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Conglomerates; Family Ownership; Growth and Development; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Thailand; China; Southeast Asia

29 Dec 2010
News

In Hard Times, Family Firms Do Better

February 2002
Background Note

Working With Relatives in the Family Firm

Describes some of the difficulties of working with one's relatives in the family firm, especially with one's brother(s). Examines some of the reasons for the difficulties and proposes ways of dealing with them. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Problems and Challenges

January 2012
Case

Family Firm Governance Vignettes

By: Lena G. Goldberg

Keywords: Family Ownership; Governance

01 Feb 1999
News

All in the Family

father and son, bringing to the table all the tensions, expectations, and disappointments that had built up between them over a lifetime. READ MORE Moving Mountains—Kathy Barco & Barco-Duval Engineering Minding Families' Business—Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien & the... View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso

Fast Answer

Patent terminology: Patent Family

What is a patent family and how it can be used in patent search? A patent family is a collection of patent applications covering the same or similar technical content. The applications in a patent View Details

October 2010
Background Note

Family Corporate Governance: A Brief Literature Review

By: Lena G. Goldberg and David Kiron

This note discusses competing theories of governance in family owned firms and focuses on agency theory, stewardship theory, and the sociological concept of embeddedness. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Managerial Roles; Family Ownership; Theory