Family businesses must be viewed as complex, living systems rather than merely as economic entities in order to be theorized. The overlapping identities and roles that people hold are captured by the Three-Circle Model: Family, Ownership, and Business. Family businesses function as systems that are influenced by agents (founders, successors) and managed by resource stewards who uphold the legacy of previous generations. They are filled with contradictions, such as emotion versus reason, kinship versus merit, and tradition versus innovation. Metaphors are useful; for example, the family business can be compared to a "vine," entwining roots and future expansion. Genograms map family dynamics; cultures and emotional tapestries reveal values, loyalties, and tensions that shape succession and sustainability over time.
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Family Business Labs
"The Successor's Paradox"
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