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- All HBS Web
(3,788)
- People (12)
- News (1,361)
- Research (1,240)
- Events (6)
- Multimedia (57)
- Faculty Publications (667)
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- 13 Aug 2014
- Lessons from the Classroom
Managing the Family Business: Entrepreneurs Needed for Long-Run Success
In the world of family business, the entrepreneurs we celebrate are usually founders of companies. These clever, hardworking individuals identify a good business opportunity, scrape together some money and... View Details
Keywords: by Michael J. Roberts
- 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
Goldberg, Lena G., and David Kiron. "Family Corporate Governance: A Brief Literature Review." Harvard Business School Background Note 311-055, October 2010.
- July 24, 2013
- Article
Family Business: How to Spot a Patriarch Problem
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
In this article, the authors discuss the concept of a "problem patriarch" in family businesses, using the example of Carl, a successful leader who undermined the talent he hired. Carl started a struggling $10 million automotive parts distributor and turned it into a $2... View Details
Baron, Josh, and Rob Lachenauer. "Family Business: How to Spot a Patriarch Problem." Harvard Business Review (website) (July 24, 2013).
- July 1999
- Background Note
Management Development Plan In A Family Business, The
By: John A. Davis
Defines management development objectives for family members employed in their family business. Outlines a process of putting these individuals on a career path to provide them with needed developmental experiences while respecting the broader needs of the... View Details
Keywords: Family Business; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Organizations; Leadership Development; Experience and Expertise
Davis, John A. "Management Development Plan In A Family Business, The." Harvard Business School Background Note 800-009, July 1999.
- 18 Nov 2011
- Conference Presentation
The Role of the University in the Development of the Family Business Field
By: John A. Davis
- 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
Barnes, Louis B. "Graham Family and the Washington Post Company, The." Harvard Business School Case 498-031, October 1997. (Revised July 1998.)
- February 2023
- Case
All Options on the Table: The Haber Family
By: Lauren Cohen, Grace Headinger and Juan Ruiz
Frida Jassan Haber, second-generation Chief Financial Officer of Haber Holdings, deliberated over the right family office solution for their family’s needs. After years of working with trusted private bankers, the family had decided to pursue other options that offered... View Details
Keywords: Latin America; Mexico; Family Business; Financial Institutions; Decision Making; Fashion Industry; Financial Services Industry; Latin America; Mexico
Cohen, Lauren, Grace Headinger, and Juan Ruiz. "All Options on the Table: The Haber Family." Harvard Business School Case 223-052, February 2023.
- March 2019
- Case
Dabur India: Growing Professional Management from Family Roots
By: Suraj Srinivasan, Namrata Arora and Jonah Goldberg
The case opens in December of 2018, with Sunil Duggal, the CEO of Dabur India (a multinational consumer goods conglomerate with a focus in Ayurvedic products) contemplating who should succeed him at the head of the company. The new CEO will have been the first since... View Details
Keywords: Family Business; Management Succession; Multinational Firms and Management; Business Growth and Maturation
Srinivasan, Suraj, Namrata Arora, and Jonah Goldberg. "Dabur India: Growing Professional Management from Family Roots." Harvard Business School Case 119-089, March 2019.
- June 2021
- Case
One Family Textiles: Stepping Back to Move Forward?
By: V.G. Narayanan, Alpana Thapar and Fares Khrais
This case explores how a family business builds a board that includes independent directors that helps to professionalize and strengthen governance in the company. The case relates to One Family Textiles, an Abu Dhabi-headquartered manufacturer of garments. The company... View Details
Keywords: Governance; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business History; Decision Making; Accounting
Narayanan, V.G., Alpana Thapar, and Fares Khrais. "One Family Textiles: Stepping Back to Move Forward?" Harvard Business School Case 121-045, June 2021.
- 04 Apr 2012
- Research & Ideas
When Founders Recruit Friends and Family as Investors
would suggest you find someone outside that circle who believes in you and your idea." An experienced investor said, "It's a shame to lose friends or family because they invested their savings in the View Details
Keywords: by Noam Wasserman
- 1994
- Chapter
Entrepreneurs and the Next Generation, Management Advantages and Challenges in a Family Business
By: M. M. Hart and H. H. Stevenson
Hart, M. M., and H. H. Stevenson. "Entrepreneurs and the Next Generation, Management Advantages and Challenges in a Family Business." In Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, 1993: Proceedings of 13th Annual Conference, edited by N. C. Churchill, 646–660. Babson Park, MA: Babson College, 1994.
- September 2020
- Case
Keeping It in the Family at the Hayden Saw Company
By: V.G. Narayanan and John Masko
In 2019, Board Chair and third-generation shareholder Helen Fullerton was preparing for a meeting to discuss Ohio-based Hayden Saw Company’s (Hayden) future as a family business. As the company entered its fifth decade, the Hayden family was dealing with three distinct... View Details
Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Family Ownership; Business and Shareholder Relations; Family and Family Relationships; Governing and Advisory Boards; Construction Industry; Ohio; United States
Narayanan, V.G., and John Masko. "Keeping It in the Family at the Hayden Saw Company." Harvard Business School Case 121-026, September 2020.
- November 2020
- Case
The 1,000-Year Plan: Lee Kum Kee and Sustaining a Family Culture
By: Lauren Cohen, Dawn H. Lau and Billy Chan
The Lee family, whose Hong Kong-based Lee Kum Kee company has established itself as a legend within the Chinese and Asian sauce world, sets out to create a daring new vision of what family legacy means. With the family business having been established in 1888, and by... View Details
Keywords: Family Business; Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Business and Community Relations; Organizational Structure; Strategic Planning
Cohen, Lauren, Dawn H. Lau, and Billy Chan. "The 1,000-Year Plan: Lee Kum Kee and Sustaining a Family Culture." Harvard Business School Case 221-047, November 2020.
- Research Summary
Family, Inc. Historical Development of German and US Family Firm
Family-owned businesses are the most common form of business organization worldwide. This project deals with the main characteristics of closely-held ownership and more precisely families as majority owners. It strives for an international comparison of family firms... View Details
- January 2025
- Case
Constitutional Fiction: John Miller & the Legitimacy of Family Constitutions
By: Lauren Cohen, Octavian Graf Pilati and Sophia Pan
John Miller sat reviewing his family’s Constitution, grappling with how best to implement and enforce its provisions. Designed to prevent ambiguity in governance, the Family Constitution set out core values and guidelines to promote harmony and cohesion among family... View Details
Keywords: Conflict Resolution; Perspective Taking; Liabilities; Family Business; Family Ownership; Business Growth and Maturation; Alignment; Cooperation; Attitudes; Behavior; Cognition and Thinking; Conflict Management; Conflict of Interests; Power and Influence; Perception; Trust; Perspective; Motivation and Incentives; Happiness; Identity; Goals and Objectives; Legal Liability; Contracts; Fairness; Values and Beliefs; Governance Controls; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Family and Family Relationships; Manufacturing Industry; Germany
Cohen, Lauren, Octavian Graf Pilati, and Sophia Pan. "Constitutional Fiction: John Miller & the Legitimacy of Family Constitutions." Harvard Business School Case 225-054, January 2025.
- July 2024 (Revised March 2025)
- Technical Note
Note on Working with Relatives in the Family Enterprise
By: Christina R. Wing and Hillary B Sieber
This note delves into the intricacies of working with relatives, offering insights and strategic recommendations for navigating the opportunities and complexities inherent in such environments. This note will cover common challenges, best practices and key governance... View Details
Keywords: Family and Family Relationships; Governance Controls; Family Business; Business or Company Management
Wing, Christina R., and Hillary B Sieber. "Note on Working with Relatives in the Family Enterprise." Harvard Business School Technical Note 625-034, July 2024. (Revised March 2025.)
- summer 1996
- Article
Bivalent Attributes of the Family Firm
By: J. A. Davis and R. Tagiuri
Keywords: Family Business
Davis, J. A., and R. Tagiuri. "Bivalent Attributes of the Family Firm." Family Business Review (summer 1996).
- Article
How Are U.S. Family Firms Controlled?
Villalonga, Belen, and Raphael Amit. "How Are U.S. Family Firms Controlled?" Review of Financial Studies 22, no. 8 (August 2009): 3047–3091. (Previously titled "Benefits and Costs of Control-enhancing Mechanisms in U.S. Family Firms." Winner of the ECGI - Standard Life Investments Finance Prize and the Family Firms Institute Best Unpublished Research Award.)
- August 2022 (Revised December 2022)
- Case
Iluméxico: For Every Family to Have Power
By: Brian Trelstad, Isa Oliveres and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago
In 2022, Manuel Wiechers, the CEO of Iluméxico, a for-profit social enterprise that provided off-grid solar energy services in rural Mexico, was finalizing his presentation for the company’s upcoming board meeting. In the 12 years since Wiechers had co-founded... View Details
Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Social Enterprise; Energy; Energy Policy; Energy Generation; Energy Sources; Growth Management; Business and Government Relations; Equity; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Energy Industry; Mexico; Latin America
Trelstad, Brian, Isa Oliveres, and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago. "Iluméxico: For Every Family to Have Power." Harvard Business School Case 323-026, August 2022. (Revised December 2022.)
- April 12, 2024
- Editorial
A New Paradigm for Family Giving
Wing, Christina R. "A New Paradigm for Family Giving." Crain Currency (April 12, 2024).