Stakeholder capitalism has gone mainstream with the rise of the sustainability agenda. For family businesses, the fundamentals of shared value are well-known and woven throughout the family capitalism business model. As explored in the newly released KMPG report "A Road Well-Traveled," family businesses have a unique opportunity to take a leadership role in guiding others…

Guest contributor: Carolyn Chen Sociologist · Author · Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California-Berkeley · Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion Much has been written about the role of purpose in the realm of family business. But what happens when organizations take it too far? Prof. Carolyn Chen explores the…

Ramon Roqueta Segalés is a winemaker, agricultural engineer and CEO of the Roqueta Origen Group. A fifth-generation member of "wine-growing entrepreneurs,” he shares how the business has grown since its creation in the 12th century. I have the privilege of leading the Roqueta Origen group, a group of small wineries with distinct brands and identities.…

Succession is the most critical challenge faced by family businesses since it touches the very heart of family and firm: its foundational bricks and future legacy. It’s difficult because it affects people – predecessors and successors, the company and the owner family – as well as complex since it can impact all three different spheres…

In my previous post, I highlighted two of the most common mistakes in family businesses. To avoid going on about mistakes, I've decided to entitle this post “Other things that often happen in family firms.” To be sure, lots of good things happen in family firms. My colleague, teacher and friend, Prof. Miguel Ángel Gallo,…

Inés Juste presides the Juste Group, a chemical-pharmaceutical company founded by her great-grandfather more than a century ago. In its fourth generation, the firm is a global reference thanks to its entrepreneurial spirit, innovative character and vocation for continuity between generations. The Juste Group was established in 1922 by my great-grandfather Rafael Juste Castán. A…

Today is March 8, International Women’s Day. On this day, the world comes together to shine a spotlight on the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, as well as the obstacles that continue to undermine gender equality in the workplace and other critical domains. First, some good news: there have been significant strides…

According to the 2023 EY and University of St.Gallen Family Business Index, the largest family enterprises are growing faster than the global economy: 10% compared to the world's 6%. Once again, the Index highlights the huge contribution of the world’s largest 500 family enterprises as a global economic driver. How the largest family enterprises are…

Trust has been the crux of economic exchanges since the creation of the world’s first marketplaces millennia ago. While several research studies have focused on trust in bilateral relationships, less is known about its broader social and economic ramifications and the specific role of family businesses. In this Forbes article, IESE Prof. Jeroen Neckebrouck shares…

In my last post, I offered five strategies that family firms should follow if they have hopes of long-term survival. Today, the focus is on two of their most common mistakes, which can also make life much more complicated for their top leaders. (1) Bringing family members into the fold It’s not unusual for founders…

This isn’t a very useful question in my view. It’s one that can lead us down the wrong path and even to erroneous decisions that generate conflicts that could have been easily avoided. It reminds me of another inane question that I’ve seen adults pose to young children: Who do you love more, Mom or…

When searching for a new supplier, investor or manager, what’s your number one criterion? Industry reputation? A core metric? Economic cost or benefit? While all relevant criteria, there is another that trumps them all: trust. Defined in academic literature as the willingness of one party to be vulnerable to the actions of another, trust has…

Global organizations are increasingly integrating stakeholder opinions and ESG objectives in their corporate purpose, an approach that family businesses have been applying for decades. In this recently published Harvard Deusto article, I explore the essential role of purpose and why it should be viewed through a strategic lens: Profundizando en la relación entre empresas familiares…

As I explored in a recent article published in the Harvard Deusto Business Review, prosperous family businesses owe their success to adhering to the following five essential rules: 1 - Treat the business as a business and the family as a family 2 - Foresee changes to avoid surprises 3 - Implement structures for nearly…

Eduardo Sánchez Pérez (PADE ’20) is the editor-in-chief of ¡HOLA!, Spain’s first society magazine and a pioneer in premier photojournalism. In this article, he shares the history of this pathbreaking publication, founded by his grandparents in 1944. The origins of ¡HOLA! can be traced back to the love story between my grandparents, Antonio Sánchez Gómez…

According to a recent PwC survey, next-generation leaders of family firms see talent acquisition, management, and retention as a key priority in the next two years in the wake of Covid-19 impacts and the subsequent labor market moves. In this Harvard Business Review article, the authors explore the pivotal role of talent acquisition in the…

The start of the new academic year invites us to open our minds in the broadest sense – to new ideas, people, projects and ways of working that inspire us personally and motivate our teams and organizations. In the realm of family business, several dualities reflect this sense of expansiveness: legacy and future, tradition and…

Guest contributor: Sumeet Malik Assistant Professor · University of Amsterdam / Entrepreneurship & Innovation Section 2021-2022 Post-Doctoral Fellow · IESE Chair of Family-Owned Business From investors and regulators to customers, external stakeholders are critical to the long-term success of family firms. They buy their products, regulate their operations, and provide their means of operation by…

We often hear about B2C and B2B business models, but let’s not forget P2P, or the “person to person” model. Year after year, my interactions with family firms confirm the importance of placing people at the heart of decision making. People should always be the top priority, which applies not only to family business, but…

As Aristotle said, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and this is certainly true of IESE’s Chair of Family-Owned Business. Looking back on the academic year, I could not be more pleased with the team's accomplishments and contributions toward advancing the practice and knowledge of family business. We hope you enjoy…