The Endurance of Family Businesses

'Family business is everywhere but remains an elusive subject for researchers. The essays in this volume provide a refreshingly broad perspective by engaging deeply with the historical, global, cultural, and gender complexities involved in understanding this vibrant form of business ownership.' Geoffrey Jones, Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, Harvard Business School
'This volume provides a relevant contribution in the field of family business studies. Bringing together the longitudinal approach of traditional business history with the analytical focus of management studies, [it] provides an important overview of the most recent research in the study of family firms. The essays assembled here are particularly relevant for those interested in issues such as the evolution of the forms of big business enterprises and the longevity and endurance of family firms, as well as their management, ownership, and governance models. There are additional insights in the interdisciplinary debate concerning 'varieties of capitalism'. In short, this book can be labeled an essential instrument that will enhance our knowledge of the modern enterprise and the special role that family businesses play.' Franco Amatori, Bocconi University
'This book combines the research of business historians and management scholars to help us understand why, despite some critics' claims to the contrary, family businesses constitute an enduring form of organization. By exploring how family businesses from around the world have evolved in response to changing socioeconomic trends such as globalization, the convergence of gender roles, or the generalization of the availability of educational opportunities, the different chapters build on one another to support the editors' thesis that we are witnessing a 'global revolution' in the way that families manage and govern their businesses.' Belén Villalonga, NYU Stern School of Business
'Comprehensive and detailed, this is a definitive, up-to-date, scholarly resource for family business historians and field practitioners alike … This book presents many interesting hypotheses and frameworks. It makes an excellent scholarly case for what business families and their advisors want and need: institutions that make more and bigger investments in the field of family business studies. In the past, critics claimed that only families in business stand to benefit from this research. The facts in this book put that argument to rest once and for all. A better understanding of family business will not only be good for every country where these economic activities thrive but will be essential for sustaining the global economy.' John A. Davis, Chairman, Cambridge Institute for Family Enterprise