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governance

How family vision drives business strategy

November 1, 2002

Imbedded values tend to lead the strategy selection process of family businesses. John Ward explains that if the family’s core beliefs are not compatible with the chosen strategy, the chances of success are much lower

John L Ward is the Co-Director of the Center for Family Enterprises at Kellogg Graduate School of Management (USA) and the Wild Group Professor of Family Business at IMD (Switzerland). He serves on the boards of four family companies in Europe and the USA.

Imbedded values tend to lead the strategy selection process of family businesses. John Ward explains that if the family's core beliefs are not compatible with the chosen strategy, the chances of success are much lower

Culture and governance in Spain

November 1, 2002

Spain has moved to a pluralistic democracy, but its strong heritage of family businesses remain governed by a patriarchal system

Ivan Lansberg is an organisational psychologist specialising in complex family enterprise. He is a senior partner at Lansberg, Gersick and Associates, New Haven, CT, USA.

Spain has moved to a pluralistic democracy, but its strong heritage of family businesses remain governed by a patriarchal system

Serial business families – an overview

April 1, 2002

The first article of a fourpart series examines why selling the family business can be a good thing. Some families, known as ‘serial business families’, achieve a positive outcome from the sale by reinventing themselves and starting a new business together

The first article of a fourpart series examines why selling the family business can be a good thing. Some families, known as 'serial business families', achieve a positive outcome from the sale by reinventing themselves and starting a new business together

Part II: Governance in the evolving business family

April 1, 2002

In the last issue, Kelin Gersick described the differences between the ‘pyramid’ view, emphasising the generational expansion of one family, and the ‘network’ view, focusing on the complex relationships among the multiple units of an extended family. Part II of this article explores the implications of that developmental model for the critical tasks of governance and continuity

In the last issue, Kelin Gersick described the differences between the 'pyramid' view, emphasising the generational expansion of one family, and the 'network' view, focusing on the complex relationships among the multiple units of an extended family. Part II of this article explores the implications of that developmental model for the critical tasks of governance and continuity

A study of Swiss family businesses

February 1, 2002

Swiss family businesses are focused on the relevant business and corporate issues that need to be addressed for future success but fare less well on the emotional issues such as succession

Lombard Odier & Cie, in conjunction with IMD, carried out an in-depth study on family businesses in Switzerland during Spring 2001 because we became aware that little is known about such businesses, even though they are the key threads of the Swiss social and economic fabric. Therefore, we tried to better understand the ties between these families and their companies, to become aware of their concerns relating to the continuity and passing on of those businesses and to define the relevant issues more efficiently.

Staying connected while growing apart

February 1, 2002

In the first of a two part series, Kelin Gersick explores the implications of family development in the context of family business growth, development and success. Part two will explore specific applications of the model in governance design

The main challenge facing business families as they move to the second, third and later generations is maintaining a sense of connection across an increasingly disparate group of relatives. Can 50 (or 200) cousins spread across many countries and around the world retain an identity as a family? So far, most of the literature on family firms focuses on the first-generation nuclear family – one pair of parents and their children moving through their life cycle. In fact, the most difficult dilemmas for business families arise as they become more complex.

The perils of looking to the past to solve the future

January 1, 2002

Finding the right model of governance at a time of complex change requires essential re-thinking. Focusing on the potential future scenarios and being educated in the key issues are good starting points for an effective transition

Successful adaptationto the challenges of generational transitions requires a fundamental re-thinking of the governance model that may have functioned effectively in the previous generation – particularly in family companies evolving to sibling or cousin partnerships. In these cases, the structure of ownership and control that worked in the past can become more complex as a result of the transition. When a family enterprise evolves in this direction, the transition calls for a significant redistribution of power and authority among an increasingly large and diverse network of stakeholders.