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Family businesses are a cornerstone of economies worldwide, yet systematic research on governance, succession, and strategy has only recently gained momentum. This book brings together candid reflections from some of the most influential pioneers in the field scholars, advisors, educators, and systemic therapists who have shaped family business studies and practice. Through insightful interviews, they share their personal journeys, the evolution of key concepts, and best practices for addressing complex family and strategic challenges.
Readers gain access to a global repository of experiences, cultural perspectives, and multi-generational wisdom, offering practical guidance for advising, teaching, and managing family enterprises. Whether you are a practitioner, a family business owner, or a scholar, this volume is an indispensable resource for understanding the intricate dynamics of family-owned firms and the careers dedicated to supporting them.
List of contents
The extended family in Africa does not stop with me, my wife, our parents and my siblings An Interview with Prof. Moses Acquaah.- In the late 1980s, most of the academic community believed that family business could not garner any sustainable interest An Interview with Prof. Joseph Astrachan.- Traditional Chinese philosophy helps me refine my thinking about family business An Interview with Prof. Chen Ling.- Family multi-generational prosperity hinges on a whole galaxy of institutions and roles An Interview with Prof. Alfredo De Massis.- Different interpretations of filial piety and loyalty in Japanese and Chinese culture have a strong impact on family businesses An Interview with Prof. Dou Shaojie.- When asked, As entrepreneurship professor, have you ever even started a firm? , I answered, Yes, when I was nine An Interview with Prof. Kimberly Eddleston.- Pragmatism, determination and a long-term vision; to get up and rebuild, that is a common trait in the region An Interview with Farida El Agamy.- We need to be able to ask the question, Who would benefit from creating this foundation? An Interview with Prof. Annika HALL.- I studied family business in order to understand the part I had been missing An Interview with Prof. Peter Jaskiewicz.- How the European SME-Sector will look like in the future, especially with view to ownership structures, is a key question An Interview with Prof. Nadine Kammerlander.- When researching professionalization of family firms, I found that there is what I call a doubles game An Interview with Prof. Kavil Ramachandran.- For understanding and advising family businesses we should look at how the family has been managed An Interview with Prof. Manfred Kets de Vries.- When teaching family business, caution to not inadvertently transmit our own values and preferences is advisable An Interview with Prof. Hermut Kormann.- Ideally, the emotional dimension should be included in every paper on family business An Interview with Prof. Rania Labaki.- Initially, the US-based global Family Firm Institute had just six members; we were a small, close-knit group An Interview with Prof. Ivan Lansberg.- Our expression to preserve a trade is a contradiction in itself; it is impossible to keep a business alive by maintaining it as it is An Interview with Prof. Li Xinchun.- Family business owners are visible owners, investing and taking risks; with their own money, with their heart and soul An Interview with Prof. Mattias Nordqvist.- Sometimes I take my Family Business classroom on the road so that the students can learn in real life settings An Interview with Prof. Pei Rong.- Systemic therapy does not see problems as something that resides inside an indi
About the author
Birgit Suberg
is Visiting Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, China, and Managing Director of a Shanghai-based consulting firm. She began her career in strategic consulting in Germany and has held senior roles in China with P&L responsibility for multinational and family-owned firms.
Hermut Kormann
served as CFO and CEO of Voith, a 150-year-old German family enterprise, and previously worked at ABB and Booz & Co. He advises owning families on strategy and serves as Professor at Zeppelin University (Germany), Visiting Professor at Leipzig University (Germany), and Senior Research Fellow at Witten University (Germany). He supervises doctoral research on family business strategy.
Summary
Family businesses are a cornerstone of economies worldwide, yet systematic research on governance, succession, and strategy has only recently gained momentum. This book brings together candid reflections from some of the most influential pioneers in the field—scholars, advisors, educators, and systemic therapists—who have shaped family business studies and practice. Through insightful interviews, they share their personal journeys, the evolution of key concepts, and best practices for addressing complex family and strategic challenges.
Readers gain access to a global repository of experiences, cultural perspectives, and multi-generational wisdom, offering practical guidance for advising, teaching, and managing family enterprises. Whether you are a practitioner, a family business owner, or a scholar, this volume is an indispensable resource for understanding the intricate dynamics of family-owned firms and the careers dedicated to supporting them.
