SEARCH RESULTS

Why Do We Treat Strangers Better Than Family Members?

A big relationship problem can affect not only family businesses, but also our personal lives: We often treat friends, acquaintances, and even strangers better than our own family members. In Read More...

Category: Interviews

Author: Kimberly Eddleston

Family Firms May Need More Legal Advice Than They Think

Family business owners often depend on legal advice to control ownership changes and uphold a functional balance between owners. This legal advice on ownership issues spans both family law and Read More...

Category: Research Insight

Authors: Kajsa Haag , Hanna Almlöf , Marina Madsen and Mette Neville

Succession, Money, and Relationships Were Top-10 Topics in 2023

FamilyBusiness.org aspires to be the #1 peer-reviewed resource for thought leadership in family business for owners and leaders, students, and professors. To achieve this goal, we are building a Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Mat Hughes and Kimberly Eddleston

Punishment, Reward, Control: How Money Shows Up in the Business Family

In popular culture, the portrayal of family businesses in movies and TV shows, such as Ridley Scott’s "House of Gucci" or HBO’s "Succession," often revolves around the pursuit of wealth and the Read More...

Category: Applied and Practice

Authors: Claudia Binz Astrachan and Anneleen Michiels

Good Intentions Can Sow Dysfunction at Family Businesses

People wear many hats at family businesses: owners, managers, and family members. All too often, says family business advisor Sara B. Stern, they're thinking like family members rather than owners Read More...

Category: Commentary

Authors: Kimberly Eddleston and Sara Stern

Do You Treat In-Laws Like the Family Business Outlaws ?

Have you heard this before? “If it wasn’t for my in-laws, our family would be fine!” Such frustrated statements are typically followed by rants about how someone spends too lavishly, does not Read More...

Category: Applied and Practice

Authors: Claudia Binz Astrachan , Joseph Astrachan and Torsten Pieper

Let's Talk About Money -- and Trauma

For better or worse, our genetics and childhood experiences spill into our adult lives -- and in the case of family businesses, they affect how we view our family coworkers and the wealth our Read More...

Category: Interviews

Author: Kimberly Eddleston

5 Ways to Keep Your Kids From Fighting Over Your Will

It is your worst nightmare. You’ve passed away, and now your adult children no longer speak to each other. Circumstances around your death have destroyed the family you spent your life building, Read More...

Category: Features

Author: Patrick O'Brien

'Succession' Hits Close to Home at Family Firms

HBO The HBO hit series "Succession" -- detailing the family business conflict, backstabbing, jealousy and double-dealing at the fictitious family-run media empire Waystar Royco --has won several Read More...

Category: Interviews

Author: Kimberly Eddleston

How to Fix Succession Conflicts Stemming From Complicated Families

Part 2 of a two-part series. Read part 1 here . Family business succession planning is a difficult process – and it is even more challenging in cases where divorce and adoption complicate family Read More...

Category: Research Insight

Authors: Leona Rethmann and Nadine Kammerlander