Publications

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March 2012
Case

The Agnellis and Fiat: Family Business Governance in a Crisis (A)

By: John A. Davis, Bernardo Bertoldi and Roberto Quaglia

After the death of Umberto Agnelli in 2004, the Agnelli family, led by John Elkann, needs to decide whether to keep Fiat CEO Giuseppe Morchio. The Fiat Group is in a delicate financial position, and John Elkann, the new family leader, is untested in this role. The... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family Ownership; Management Teams; Leadership; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Italy

12 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

The Three Components of Family Governance

There are three components to family governance: Periodic (typically annual) assemblies of the family; all families in business can benefit from this activity. 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

Teaching Interest

Demystifying the Family Enterprise

By: Christina R. Wing

This course is primarily designed for students who are pursuing a career in family run businesses, family owned businesses, investment roles in family offices, or students that might invest in or wholly purchase a family owned business through a private equity firm,... View Details

09 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

Five Steps to Better Family Negotiations

Negotiations between family members who own a business are different—different from negotiations between non-family members and also different from negotiations between family... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Davis and Deepak Malhotra

23 Jan 2020
News

Managing the Trickiest Parts of a Family Business

December 2019 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Carroll Family Farms

By: Forest Reinhardt, Christian Godwin and James Weber

The Carroll Family, U.S. pig and grain farmers, needed to decide what to plant, whether to purchase land, emphasize pigs or grain, or other investments.

Seven family members across three generations owned and operated Carroll Family Farms (CFF). In... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Operations; Strategy; Family Business; Asset Management; Globalization; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States; Brazil; China

April 7, 2017
Article

Signs You’re Losing Control of Your Family Business

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

These red flags signal the need to reassert authority. View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

Driving the family business onto a global stage

Anand Mahindra (AB 1977, MBA 1981), as chairman and managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), has grown the family business into a thriving Indian multinational automotive manufacturing corporation,... View Details

30 Jan 2013
News

Why Running a Family Doesn't Help You Run a Business

1997
Book

Generation to Generation: Life Cycles of the Family Business

By: K. Gersick, J. A. Davis, M. M. Hampton and I. Lansberg

Keywords: Family Business; Business Cycles

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April 10, 2014
Article

Generation to Generation: How to Save the Family Business

By: Boris Groysberg and Deborah Bell

Most family-owned businesses—approximately 70%—last just one generation. Because an estimated 80% of businesses across the globe are family-owned, the low survival rate has alarming consequences. Consider this: In the United States alone, family-owned businesses (FOBs)... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Governing and Advisory Boards; Strategy; Management Succession; Competency and Skills; Diversity

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Video

Family Businesses in MENA: Setting the Gold Standard

24 Dec 2024
News

Scaling a Family Business While Maintaining Founding Values

08 Oct 2020
News

Harvard Business School Announces Establishment of The Joseph Bower Family Fund

October 2000
Case

Francisco de Narvaez at Tia: Selling the Family Business

By: Linda A. Hill and Kristin Doughty

In January 1999, Francisco de Narvaez sold Tia, his family's retail business in Argentina. De Narvaez reflects on the decision to sell and the selling process. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Business Exit or Shutdown; Decisions; Argentina