A family business is a business in which one or more members of one or more families have a significant ownership interest and

significant commitments toward the business over all well-being In some countries, many of the largest publicly listed firms are family-owned. A firm is said to be familyowned if a person is the controlling shareholder; that is, a person (rather than a state, corporation, management trust, or mutual fund) can garner enough shares to assure at least 20% of the voting rights

A family buisness is defined in terms of : Ownership control by members of a family Strategic influence of a family in the management of the firm. Concern for family relationships The dream of continuity across generations.

A Family-owned business is one that is owned and managed (that is controlled) by one or more family members. 1. Family-owned firms are organizations where two or more extended family members influence the directions of the business through the exercise of kinship ties, management roles, or ownership rights. 2 A family owned business is any business in which a majority of the ownership or control lies within a family. It is also a complex, dual system consisting of the family and the business. Members involved in the business are part of a task system and also a part of a family system and these two systems may overlap. 3 Family owned businesses exist all over the world

One of the largest trends in family business is the amount of women who are taking over their family firms. In the past, succession was reserved for the first born son, then it moved on to any male heir. Now, women account for approx. 11-12% of all family firm leaders, an increase of close to 40% since 1996. Daughters are now considered to be one of the most underutilized resources in family businesses. To encourage the next generation of women to be valuable members of the business, potential female successors should be nurtured by assimilation into the family firm, mentoring, sharing of important tacit knowledge and having positive role models within the business

 Family-owned companies present special challenges to those who run them. The reason? They can be developing unique cultures and procedures as they grow and mature. That's fine, as long as they continue to be managed by people who are steeped in the traditions, or at least able to adapt to them Often family members can benefit from involving more than one professional advisor, each having the particular skill set needed by the family. Some of the skill sets that might be needed include communication, conflict resolution family systems, finance, legal, accounting, insurance, investing, leadership development, management development, and strategic planning

 Global research shows that most business families can't keep their flock together for more than three generations. For India, no clear data exists but there is evidence. The Birlas split after three generations, the Ambanis in the second generation, and the Bajajs in the third generation.

 Counter-intuitive as it may sound, Indian families are involving the younger members of the family right at the start of the discussion. The younger lot is more educated and open to concepts. The older generation is often caught in situations where respect means saying nothing. Even when they see something they don't agree with, they say nothing. So the next generation must be involved. They are anyway the people who will have to execute the plan and must be convinced, otherwise it won't work.

 The positive side is family firms tend to more future oriented rather than driven by quartely results. The negative side is less participation in global markets , have lower growth rates

Family buisness as system

It consists of two major systems : family system & buisness system Families are about stability , reliability, consistency ,love and care & support individual development & family harmony . They are about legacy & continuity , not change. Prefer to employ family members or family like members in senior position . They maintain a high level of secrecy about buisness Buisness: are customer oriented , are always changing , always adapting to the customer induced changes in competitive dynamic world. Prefer to employ based on qualification . They review performance of both members & non-members

Concern of family buisness

Succession Competitive advantage

Corporate Strategy in family buisness

Develop competence in core area Low cost leadership to gain market share in world market Go global Forge alliance with MNC to gain access Employ world class consultant s to bring organisational design.