Good family governance facilitates the alignment of the ownership group and supports the family in effectively managing the family-business interface. Family governance serves one purpose only: To ensure that the enterprising family remains able to make decisions together, and therefore actionable, even in the face of pressure. However, families differ in terms of their values, objectives, and alignment, and what works well for one family might lead to conflict in another.
This research is commissioned by the IFB Research Foundation and seeks to identify best practices in family governance among privately owned businesses in the UK and around the world. The objective is to identify those governance mechanisms that support the family shareholder group in strengthening their communication and conflict management skills, instilling a sense of stewardship across generations and branches, securing ownership competence, and thereby assuring business continuity and perpetuating the family legacy. We do this by collecting data on best practices via (1) online survey and (2) case studies:
- The survey highlights which family governance mechanisms families use to manage their family relationships and the intersection between the family and the business. Click here to participate in the survey.
- The case studies (more information below) investigate why families select certain family governance mechanisms, how they implement them, and the effects that these governance mechanisms have on the family and the business. If you are interested in participating in the case studies, please click here.
The results from the research will be publicly available. If you have any questions, please reach out to Dr. Claudia Binz Astrachan at email hidden; JavaScript is required.