Management Insights from Great and Struggling Family Businesses

The common perception of family-controlled businesses (FCBs) is that they are subject to stagnation, clannishness, cronyism and rash leadership. Yet many FCBs are highly successful. This paper is based on a study of 46 successful and 24 struggling FCBs to determine how they differed in their strategic, organisational and leadership priorities. It identifies four main priorities which it calls “the 4 Cs”: continuity, community, connections and command. Each of these priorities contains advantages, but they also have their downsides. While the successful FCBs effectively exploited the Cs, the unsuccessful companies manifested these priorities and practices less frequently, and fell victim to their negative aspects. Citing examples of FCBs, this paper offers an analysis of each of the 4C priorities and the lessons that can be applied to FCBs and non-family companies.