business model

Do most family businesses really fail by the third generation?

July 22, 2021

Many articles or speeches about family businesses include a reference to the “three-generation rule,” which says that most don’t survive beyond three generations. But that perception could not be further from the truth.

If you’re a fan of the HBO show Succession, or if you’re aware of the conflicts playing out publicly and perennially among some of the most visible family businesses in the world—think the Murdochs or Sumner Redstone’s family—you might assume that family businesses are more fragile than other forms of enterprise.

Family firms have a bad image with investors

January 22, 2013

European family businesses are a safe bet for investors even in times of economic crises, according to research by the Instituto de Empresa business school, but the problems associated with family ownership make potential investors wary.

Why the family is the future

June 4, 2012

In his essay That Politics May Be Reduced to a Science, the Scottish thinker David Hume asked himself whether good government is down to the “humours and education” of the rulers, or the form of the constitution. We might ask the same question about businesses.