Category: Research Insight

When the Family Leaves the Business, Can Their Values Remain?

Researchers explored how the Cadbury family’s Quaker values, which prioritized honesty and fairness, have endured even after the confectioner was sold to Kraft. EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was Read more

How to Build a Family Business Portfolio: Your Location Matters

While there are many routes to success, research shows that entrepreneurial business families should consider the possible impact of where they live on how they grow. EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was Read more

In 2001, Zara (INDITEX) noticed that black t-shirts had disappeared from its store shelves after the Twin Towers attack and rushed to replenish them. How was Zara able to meet this unplanned demand? Read more

Women Show Their Strengths When Family Businesses are in Trouble 

Around the world, women have always been part of family businesses. However, little is known about how they affect the continuity of family firms in certain areas of the world, especially patriarchal Read more

How the Right Mix of Employee Incentives Fosters Innovation

Many people assume that when a family business honors its past, it can’t focus on the future. But our research has found that having the right incentives in place encourages employees at family Read more

Will Your In-Laws Help or Hurt Your Family Business?

We’ve seen the remarkable impact of in-laws on famous family businesses, for better or worse. Examples include the infamous Gucci family feud between Maurizio Gucci and his wife Patrizia Reggiani, Read more

Fintech is an increasingly important innovation for businesses across the world. Fintech broadly refers to technologies that enable banking and financial services. As fintech has the power to diffuse Read more

What If a Hedge Fund Invests in my Family Business?

At many publicly traded firms, the presence of activist investors forces them to innovate. This didn't hold true at the family businesses we studied. EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was produced in Read more

Leonardo Da Vinci once said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” But in today’s world of international business, things have never been more complex. The combination of intensified Read more

Newer, smaller businesses, often led by entrepreneurs, are usually comfortable operating in dynamic, ever-changing, and even unpredictable environments. They are quicker than larger firms to innovate Read more