Value Creation in Family Firms

Overview

Family businesses are one of the most dominant forms of organization around the world (with roughly 70-90% of all firms being family-influenced). The aim of this course is to study how family firms differ from non-family firms. The focus will thereby be on issues related to leading or managing a family firm. The course we will focus on how to successfully lead family businesses in the 21st century.

In particular, the course covers the following topics:

1 Introduction and brief overview of family businesses:
o Term definition, meaning, and characteristics of family businesses
o Differences between family businesses and non-family businesses, especially in relation to goals, long-term orientation, structure, and resources
o Theories to explain family firm behavior in general.

2 Leadership in family firms:
o Leadership styles
o Family vs. non-family CEOs
o Employee motivation

3 Transgenerational entrepreneurship in family firms:
o Innovation behavior of family firms
o Adaptation to disruptive changes
o Entrepreneurship across generations

4 Strategic management and governance:
o “Organization” of the family
o Strategic orientation and risk

Course structure

Thesix in-class teaching sessionswill take place during the first quarter of the semester. In five of those sessions, we will welcome guest speakers from the family firm sphere, talking about their family firms and experience in practice. This allows us to connect our theoretical knowledge from the lectures with the experiences of practitioners.

Students will conduct agroup consulting projectwith a real family business which will span over the first two quarters/the entire first semester (Sep-Dec). Each group will choose one specific family firm (preferably from their own network but the chair can support the search). First, they will analyze this company with regards to family firm strengths and weaknesses, growth potential, leadership, transgenerational entrepreneurship, succession, and strategic management/governance. Second, they will consult the firm with a specific projectin accordance withthe company's needs. This project has to be value creating for the company but can be diverse in nature (e.g., finance, marketing, operations, logistics etc.)

Individualcoaching sessionswith the professor during the second quarter will help students to achieve their learning goals and ensure the advancement of the group consulting project. The course will conclude with the students' presentation of their project results on "value creation in family firms" at the end of the second quarter.

Relevance

This course is relevant for all students, who aim to work in their own family business, to work in another family business as a non-family manager, to consult family businesses, or to start a family business.

• Learn about the importance and characteristics of family firms, and basic theories/frameworks to understand family firms
• Understand the challenges and opportunities of leading family firms, achieving transgenerational entrepreneurship in family firms, and defining appropriate strategic management and governance in family firms.
• Being able to engage in group work
• Being able to present and defend findings
• Practicing the use of selected frameworks, concepts, and tools by applying them to real-life family firm project
• Acquire consulting experience
• Prepare for working in a family firm or in a consulting firm (for family firms)

Therefore, students will gain skills in the following areas:

Discipline-specific knowledge and competence

• Students will possess an intermediate level knowledge in the functional areas of business
• Students will possess an intermediate level knowledge in the functional areas of economics

Global business environment

• Students will possess an intermediate level knowledge in the functional areas of international business and economics

Critical thinking and problem solving skills

• Students will possess an intermediate ability to integrate different perspectives,
• Students will possess an intermediate ability to implement solutions, identify problems,
• Students will possess an intermediate ability to structure complexity and focus on main challenges
• Students will possess an intermediate capacity to prepare written reports

Management specific skills

• Students will achieve an intermediate integrated perspective of the firm
• Students will achieve an intermediate ability to formulate strategies

Teamwork and responsible leadership

• Students will possess an intermediate level of knowledge in the functional areas of leadership and organization
• Students will possess an intermediate ability to identify ethical problems arising in modern economic and business practices, and judge values/criteria/decisions/outcomes pertaining to them
• Students will possess an intermediate capacity to incorporate an understanding of social and legal issues in reaching business related decisions
• Students will possess an intermediate capacity to collaborate within working teams

Goup project and final presentation: 50%

Individual reflection paper: 50 %