Overcoming family business myths

Family businesses are reputed to be unprofessionally run and destined to fail in the third generation. So how does one explain the continuity of companies like Cargill Inc. (founded 1865), S.C. Johnson & Son (founded 1886) and Mars Inc. (founded 1891)?

For about five years, Dennis Jaffe of Wise Counsel Research and his team have been studying what he calls “generative families” — those who have successfully pursued business opportunities as a family for more than three generations. Jaffe and coworkers have examined nearly 90 families across 20 countries who created a successful business (or set of businesses) with annual revenues of more than US$200 million. Families in this study range from the third to the eighth generation of shared family enterprise.

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About the Author(s)

Barbara Spector

Barbara Spector is Family Business Magazine's editor-at-large.


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