Family Businesses in Emerging and Developed Countries: A Historical Perspective of the Different Pathways and Opportunities for the Future

Family businesses are neither standard nor universal business organizations that operate without historical context. Families vary within the same territory over time, and so do the businesses in which they invest. The respective economical, political, and cultural frameworks of nations and states also change through time and greatly impact the growth and opportunities of multi-generational enterprises.

Scholars tend to differentiate pathways of economic development into broad groups that can be classified in a dynamic way as developed, developing, or emerging economies.

We were delighted to welcome Prof. Paloma Fernández Pérez, Full Professor in Economic and Business History at the University of Barcelona, as our keynote speaker.

During the session, Prof. Fernández discussed key findings from a research project that aimed to identify key differences between the largest family businesses of developed and emerging economies at the beginning of the 21st century.

We explored how path-dependent, long-term interaction of complex environmental factors (institutions, macroeconomic factors, culture) and ever-changing microeconomic dynamics of family businesses help explain many of the opportunities, and obstacles that family businesses face today.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS:

• Observations from case studies across regions.
• What are the differences between family businesses in developed and emerging economies related to economic specialization and average longevity?
• Why does data suggest that family businesses in emerging economies seem to have a bigger specialization in capital-intensive sectors like telecommunications, energy, media, and heavy industry?
• How have family businesses in emerging markets with particularly unstable macroeconomic and institutional contexts ensured their success and growth?
• Outlook for the future of family businesses in developed and emerging markets.