Family Firm To Modern Multinational

Ernest Solvay, philanthropist and organizer of the world-famous Solvay conferences on physics, discovered a profitable way of making soda ash in 1861. Together with a handful of associates, he laid the foundations of the Solvay company, which successfully branched out into other chemicals, plastics and pharmaceuticals. Since its emergence in 1863, Solvay has maintained world leadership in the production of soda ash. This is the first scholarly book on the history of the Solvay company, which was one of the earliest chemical multinationals and today is among the world's twenty largest chemical companies. It is also one of the largest companies in the field to preserve its family character. The authors analyze the company's 150-year history (1863–2013) from economic, political and social perspectives, showing the enormous impact geopolitical events had on the company and the recent consequences of global competition.

Family Firms (FFs) form the majority of all firms around the world and they account for an enormous percentage of the employment, the revenue, and the GDP of most capitalist countries. While MNCs have long been thought of as the main contributors to international business, it is now recognised that a substantial number of family firms are active in the international arena. This handbook focuses on the features which make family firm internationalization unique. Chapters provide FF specific theories and cover the process of FF internationalization. It examines the role of network ties and provides an insight into the development of family firms that have grown into big multinationals. Importantly this Handbook equips you with a better understanding of specific features of family firms as they internationalize from or to Asian or emerging markets. Family firms offer a fruitful context to study internationalization through a process perspective, therefore this Handbook is an invaluable source of knowledge for students, scholars and policy makers in the areas of family business, entrepreneurship and internationalization.

In this new textbook, Andrea Colli gives a historical and comparative perspective on family business, examining through time the different relationships within family businesses and among family enterprises, inside different political and institutional contexts. He compares the performance of family businesses with that of other economic organizations, and looks at how these enterprises have contributed to the evolution of contemporary industrial capitalism. Central to his discussion are the reasons for both the decline and persistence of family business, how it evolved historically, the different forms it has taken over time, and how it has contributed to the growth of single economies. The book summarises previous research into family business, and situates many aspects of family business - such as their strategies, contribution, failure and decline - in an economic, social, political and institutional context. It will be of key interest to students of economic history and business studies.

In contrast to widespread assessments that family enterprises lack sufficient resources and capabilities to go global, many family companies are competing successfully in an increasingly globalized business environment. Worldwide, a large number of thriving multinationals are still family-owned and/or under family control. While there is abundant literature on the phenomenon of globalization from many different disciplines, neither the literature on multinationals nor the growing field of family business studies have systematically investigated family multinationals yet. This volume is one of the first to deal explicitly with family multinationals and the role of the family in internationalization. It situates itself at the crossroads of internationalization studies on the one hand and family business research on the other. Why do families continue to play such a large role in some of the most prominent firms in emerging and mature economies? How did they manage to maintain ownership control, yet divest of unrelated business ventures? How did they internationalize yet maintain control? This book identifies the idiosyncratic strategies and structures of family multinationals in different countries and at different points in time. A comparative historical and case study approach allows us to explore the role of the family through the firms’ various internationalization pathways and understand long-term developments and path dependencies.

Drawing on a series of case studies from Finland, this book examines the role of networking in the internationalisation process of family firms. Providing a comprehensive overview of recent literature alongside the empirical analysis of 24 family firms, the authors use theoretical concepts from family business research to create a model specifically for the internationalisation and networking of family firms. An insightful read for those interested in international and small business, this book offers practical implications for the successful internationalisation of family firms and sets the agenda for future research in the field of family business.

Readable, wide-ranging history of multinational enterprise, exploring its role in international events and influence on globalization and the modern world.

The Endurance of Family Businesses is a collection of essays offering an overview of the importance and resilience of family-controlled large businesses. Much of economic and business history research neglects family businesses, considering them an inefficient form of business organization. These essays discuss the strengths of family businesses: the ways family firms have managed, financed and governed their corporations, as well as the way in which they structure their relationship with the external environment, from the government to the company's stakeholders. Family businesses have learned new ways of organizing their resources and using their accumulated know-how for new markets and institutional environments. This volume combines the expertise of well-known scholars who specialize in business history, economic history, management and consulting, to provide an interdisciplinary perspective on family businesses. Contributors provide a global view by taking into account Asian, American and European experiences.

A thorough explanation of how family enterprises work The family enterprise, whether an operating business, a family office, or both, is the backbone of the US and international economies. These enterprises cut across industries and geographies and can be first-generation entrepreneurial companies or multi-generational businesses with family offices. This book offers a foundation in and understanding of how family enterprises work, including working definitions and the key characteristics of family enterprises, as well as useful concepts for working with and in family enterprises, either as a professional or as a family member. Written by the experts at the Family Firm Institute, a global network of professionals, educators, researchers, and owners of family enterprises An ideal resource for professionals in law, finance, management, and behavioral science, family office and fund managers, and others interested in an multidisciplinary approach to this field