Category: Research Insight

When Family Business Reputation Helps—and When It Hurts

Family firms often enjoy strong consumer goodwill, until they engage in deliberate misconduct -- when higher expectations can produce deeper disappointment and sharper backlash. EDITOR'S NOTE: This Read more

Family Offices Are Booming—But Do They Actually Work?

Research still can’t clearly explain when they deliver real value. A review shows what we know, what we don’t, and how families can close the needs-to-services gap. EDITOR‘S NOTE: This article Read more

What Nonfamily Managers Need From Family Firm Leaders

Vision matters—but so does individualized consideration. This study shows nonfamily managers perform better when CEOs pair transformational leadership with genuine, personalized attention and Read more

The core issue isn’t drive or talent. It’s a recurring set of constraints—access, legitimacy, scaling friction, and fatigue—that repeatedly narrows the funnel for Black founders. EDITOR'S Read more

How Families Can Re-Engage Reluctant Successors Without Pressure

Successors recommit when roles align with their values, skills, and life stage—and when family dynamics allow earlier experiences to be reinterpreted. Many family firms think about succession when Read more

How Families Shape Successor Motivation—and the Firm’s Long-Term Direction

Family firms don’t have goals—people do. The rise and fall of Italy's Florio dynasty shows how successor motivation shapes the balance between growth, legacy, and community—and how families can Read more

What a €70M mobile-gaming startup reveals about make-or-break decisions. Founders’ decisions play a huge role in whether startups scale up or fizzle out. These decisions become much more Read more

Will Your Nonfamily Employees Defend Your Business? 

A stewardship climate, where employees feel trusted and truly valued, mobilizes nonfamily employees to defend the family firm against reputational threats. EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was produced Read more

The 11 Digital Warning Signs of Conflict Escalation in Business Families

Digital communication speeds up family business decisions—but it also accelerates conflict. Based on 100+ pages of real emails and texts, here are 11 signs that an all-out brawl is coming. The Read more

Cooperating with Competitors is Good Business in Japan

Japanese family businesses are encouraged to help one another for the benefit of their shared customers and their community. It has helped them survive setbacks and thrive. Family businesses are a Read more