Commentary

A Commentary provides thoughtful and insightful opinions or perspectives on events, policies or situations of interest to business owners, startups, educators, investors and policymakers. These should be short, readable, timely, interesting pieces that address current topics of interest, discussion or dispute.

Length: <1,000 words

Reviewed by Senior Editors


Your Family Needs An Emergency Succession Plan

As we all know, successions and family business succession planning are rarely easy, but unexpected transitions pose a significant risk to family businesses. When Herbert Fisk Johnson, Sr., the Read More...

Category: Commentary

Author: David Deeds

EIX Partners With the Journal of Business Venturing

Entrepreneur & Innovation Exchange (EIX) is partnering with the Journal of Business Venturing (JBV) to bring its research-proven insights and practical advice to our audience of current and Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: David Townsend and Catherine Buday

Entrepreneurs Must Lead the Charge in Carbon Reduction

Entrepreneurs, not federal government subsidies, are the key to societal improvements. Consider, for example, the newly passed Inflation Reduction Act. It aims to reduce carbon emissions by giving Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Dave Ketchen and Andrew Balthrop

Should Family Businesses Have Employee Ownership Plans?

Like almost all family businesses, Commercial Casework in Hayward, California had to plan for when family owners would want to sell. The company, with about 100 employees, is one of the San Francisco Read More...

Category: Commentary

Author: Corey Rosen

Should Family Members Be the 'Face' of Your Company?

Around the globe, advertisements for family businesses regularly include expressions like: “Our family serving yours for the last three generations” and, “Our name on the product guarantees its Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Jonas Ruzek , Ben Cooper and Kimberly Eddleston

Four Reasons Why Your Next Hire Should Have a Side Hustle

Like so much else today, the hiring process has radically changed. While it remains important for prospective hires, especially those fresh out of school, to demonstrate concrete evidence of job Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Steve Blank and Nancy Forster-Holt

Classical Music and Blockchain Taught Me to Think Like an Artist

Most people would never think of putting classical music and blockchain in the same sentence. With my training in engineering and economics, I wouldn’t have either -- if it were not for my getting Read More...

Category: Commentary

Author: Christos A. Makridis

Don't Send Your Kids to Work Outside the Family Business Just Yet!

Should family members work outside the family business before joining? Experts have long recommended that this is the best (and only!) way for the next generation to learn the skills and knowledge Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Joseph Astrachan , Isabel C Botero , Carol Wittmeyer and Claudia Binz Astrachan

Family CEO Burnout: How to Prevent, Recognize and Deal With It

Between COVID, supply chain issues, armed invasions, unstable markets, and the great resignation with millions of workers leaving the workforce (Parker & Menasce Horowitz, 2022) – or, more Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Lars B. Sonderegger , Claudia Binz Astrachan and Joseph Astrachan

What All Family Businesses Can Learn From the Merck Family

The Merck family business dates back to this apothecary, founded in 1668. The German Merck family has succeeded where many business families have failed: Keeping a group of 319 family members, Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Tom Rüsen , Claudia Binz Astrachan and Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp