Generation to Generation : Life Cycles of the Family Business

"Generation to Generation" presents one of the first comprehensive overviews of family business as a specific organizational form. Focusing on the inevitable maturing of families and their firms over time, the authors reveal the dynamics and challenges family businesses face as they move through their life cycles. The book asks questions, such as: what is the difference between an entrepreneurial start-up and a family business, and how does one become the other? How does the meaning of the business to the family change as adults and children age? How do families move through generational changes in leadership, from anticipation to transfer, and then separation and retirement? This book is divided into three sections that present a multidimensional model of a family business. The authors use the model to explore the various stages in the family business life span and extract generalizable lessons about how family businesses should be organized. Ownership Developmental Dimension -- Family Developmental Dimension -- Business Developmental Dimension -- Founders And The Entrepreneurial Experience -- Growing And Evolving Family Business -- Complex Family Enterprise -- Diversity Of Successions: Different Dreams And Challenges -- Structures And Plans For Guiding Development -- Consulting With Family Businesses -- Conclusion: Lessons From The Life Cycles. Kelin E. Gersick ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [279]-291) And Index. Presents a comprehensive overview of family business as a specific organizational form. Focusing on the inevitable maturing of families and their firms over time, this book reveals the dynamics and challenges family businesses face as they move through their life cycles. EVEN MORE THAN the family name on the door or the number of relatives in top management, it is family ownership that defines the family business.