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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(4,919)
- People (14)
- News (1,734)
- Research (1,573)
- Events (9)
- Multimedia (89)
- Faculty Publications (988)
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- 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.
- July 19, 2021
- Article
Do Most Family Businesses Really Fail by the Third Generation?
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
Perhaps the most commonly-cited statistic about family businesses is their failure rates. Most articles or speeches about family businesses start with some version of the “three-generation rule,” which suggests that most don’t survive beyond three generations. But that... View Details
Baron, Josh, and Rob Lachenauer. "Do Most Family Businesses Really Fail by the Third Generation?" Harvard Business Review (website) (July 19, 2021).
- September 2024
- Supplement
Carrie Wang: Choosing Between the Family Firm and the Family Spirit: Spreadsheet Supplement
By: Lauren Cohen, Fei Wu and Sophia Pan
- 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.)
- 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.)
- Article
Informal Family Insurance and the Design of the Welfare State
By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch
We study unemployment benefit provision when the family also provides social insurance. In the benchmark case, more generous State transfers crowd out family risk-sharing one-for-one. An extension gives the State an advantage in enforcing transfers through taxes... View Details
Di Tella, Rafael, and Robert MacCulloch. "Informal Family Insurance and the Design of the Welfare State." Economic Journal 112, no. 477 (February 2002): 481–503.
- January 1978
- Article
Families, Family Processes, and Economic Life
By: R. M. Kanter
Keywords: Family and Family Relationships
Kanter, R. M. "Families, Family Processes, and Economic Life." Supplementary Issue. American Journal of Sociology 82 (January 1978). (Also in Turning Points: Historical and Sociological Essays on the Family, edited by S. Boocock and J. Demos. University of Chicago Press, 1978.)
- 13 Oct 2011
- Conference Presentation
Family Enterprises: Beyond the Three Circles
By: John A. Davis, A. Kinkade and J. Richardson
Keywords: Family Business
- April 12, 2024
- Editorial
A New Paradigm for Family Giving
Wing, Christina R. "A New Paradigm for Family Giving." Crain Currency (April 12, 2024).
- December 26, 2018
- Article
Why Family Businesses Need to Find the Right Level of Conflict
By: Josh Baron
Many families avoid conflict because it makes them uncomfortable. For families that own and manage businesses, this is a problem. Conflict avoidance leads people to avoid difficult–but necessary–conversations and decisions. Instead of avoiding conflict, the people who... View Details
Baron, Josh. "Why Family Businesses Need to Find the Right Level of Conflict." Harvard Business Review (website) (December 26, 2018).
- November 2024
- Technical Note
Is a Single-Family Office Right for You?
By: Christina R. Wing, George Jackoboice and Justin Huang
Twenty years ago, the term “family office” was used infrequently and often reserved for the most storied families such as the Rockefellers or the Kennedys. Now, “family office” is on the tip of the tongue of every investor, wealth manager, and company. However, the... View Details
Wing, Christina R., George Jackoboice, and Justin Huang. "Is a Single-Family Office Right for You?" Harvard Business School Technical Note 625-073, November 2024.
- 20 May 2014
- Research & Ideas
Managing the Family Business: Survival’s Secret Sauce
But long-term success-even for a family company-can be explained in a rather simple, straightforward way. Here are some high points to consider. Grow Every Generation In order to stay alive commercially as a family, you must grow your... View Details
- May 18, 2020
- Article
Create a Culture of Generosity and Communication in Your Family Business
By: Christina R. Wing and Rohit K. Gera
The phrase “family business” is made up of two very different words: “family,” which calls to mind warm, fuzzy feelings around love, joy, and support, and “business,” which is measured in money, profits, impact, and assets. We put the two words together, and often, use... View Details
Wing, Christina R., and Rohit K. Gera. "Create a Culture of Generosity and Communication in Your Family Business." Harvard Business Review (website) (May 18, 2020).
- 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.)
- July 9, 2013
- Article
Why Fights Erupt in Family Businesses
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
Lack of boundaries and formal structure create potential for nasty (and lasting) disagreements. View Details
Baron, Josh, and Rob Lachenauer. "Why Fights Erupt in Family Businesses." Harvard Business Review (website) (July 9, 2013).
- 24 May 2006
- Conference Presentation
Lessons from Successful Family Business Dynasties
By: John A. Davis
- October 2024 (Revised January 2025)
- Case
MDH Partners: Evolving a Family Legacy
By: Christina R. Wing and Sarah Mehta
This case is about succession planning for MDH Partners, an Atlanta-based industrial real estate investment firm founded in 2005. When Jeffrey Small, Jr. cofounded MDH Partners, he named the company in honor of his grandfather, Mark Durward (MD) Hodges, an early... View Details
Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Business Ventures; Ownership; Business Exit or Shutdown; Family Business; Management Succession; Personal Development and Career; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States; Georgia (state, US); Atlanta
Wing, Christina R., and Sarah Mehta. "MDH Partners: Evolving a Family Legacy." Harvard Business School Case 625-001, October 2024. (Revised January 2025.)
- August 2007
- Background Note
Assessing and Enhancing Individual Power in the Family Business System
By: John A. Davis
Describes how to asses and enhance an individual's bases, sources, and levels of power in a family business system. Relies on Franch and Raven's framework that identifies five bases of social power (reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, and expert), describing how... View Details
Keywords: Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Situation or Environment; Power and Influence
Davis, John A. "Assessing and Enhancing Individual Power in the Family Business System." Harvard Business School Background Note 808-026, August 2007.