ENT 609 - Family Business in the 21st Century

Family-owned businesses are ubiquitous and growing in the US and around the world. They comprise 80-90% of all businesses and cover the spectrum of small mom and pops to multi-billion dollar, complex, global enterprises. Families control 35% of Fortune 500 companies. Regardless of the size, family businesses have long been and continue to be an economic engine. The origins of these family enterprises are often entrepreneurial and, as a result, these families can expand their holdings from the original operating business to other entities, including trusts, investment funds, holding companies, family offices, and charitable foundations. Given the dominant presence of family enterprises in the business world, students of business are likely to encounter, work for, work with, or be a member of a business family. While family enterprises can have much in common with non-family, private, or publicly held companies, there are characteristics that are unique only to family businesses. This course is an introduction to the basic concepts specific to family enterprises such as governance, ownership structures, values-based decision making, succession planning, intra-family conflict management, and inter-generational dynamics, and will give students an understanding of the challenges and opportunities of family enterprises in order to be informed employees, owners and/or shareholders.

Concentrations - Entrepreneurship

Credits: 1.5