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CCGR Information hub

Family firms

What's special about family firms?

The family-owned firm is the oldest and most prevalent type of business in the world. 

The special aspect of a family firm is that it is owned, and also often managed, by a group of people with strong pre-existing and ongoing personal relationships. These social ties may have both advantages and disadvantages in relation to running a business. 

Research on family firms fundamentally asks the question of whether the integration of production and personal ties matters for corporate governance and firm performance. Governance may differ in family firms because family owners pursue other objectives than the maximization of profits. For example, they are often believed to have a longer time horizon than non-family owners and to prioritize passing the firm on to the next generation. Family owners are also often believed to manage the business with the primary aim of preserving the family's control of it. Research-based evidence can help us understand to what extent such beliefs have merit.

Write_laptop
Write_laptop

Feature topic

Detecting family firms in the data. Read more

Man in suit ready to run
Man in suit ready to run

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Norwegian family-owned firms generally outperform nonfamily-owned firms. Similar results have been documented in multiple other countries. Read more

Two children with crazy hats and sunglasses
Two children with crazy hats and sunglasses

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How is ownership inherited in family firms? Does the potential for conflicts among heirs influence inheritance decisions? Read more.

Team_work
Team_work

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Conflicts between family and minority shareholders is likely the most important conflict among stakeholders in family firms. Read more

Connection
Connection

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The family firm usually represents the family's main investment. Conversely, the family represents an important course of funding and labor for the family firm. Read more

Illustration: money, numbers and graphs
Illustration: money, numbers and graphs

Feature topic

Does the taxation of wealth have repurcussions on companies? Read more
 

Ocean power
Ocean power

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A wide range of firms were affected by the Covid crisis. Family firms are generally considered to be more resilient and closer to their employees, but they also have limited resources. Read more

Person pointing to documents
Person pointing to documents

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Family ownership is the most prevalent organization of private enterprise in Norway. 70% of Norwegian companies are controlled by families in the sense that one family owns 50 percent or more of the firm’s equity. Read more

Woman leading a meeting
Woman leading a meeting

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Families are deeply involved in the governance of the firms they own: they are usually represented in the board of directors as well as in the management team. Read more

Father and son in suits reading newspaper with the headline "Business"
Father and son in suits reading newspaper with the headline "Business"

Feature topic

Changes in the management of a family business can be a contentious and risky affair. Successors often have big shoes to fill and the weight of the family’s future success on their shoulders. Read more

Ski
Ski

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Family firms represent the vast majority of firms, especially in less central regions. In those regions they also stand for a large proportion of revenues, assets, and employment. Read more

Innovation
Innovation

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Family firms are different from nonfamily firms starting from their initial years. Read more

Salmon farm small
Salmon farm small

Feature topic

Family firms represent a majority of the firms in most industries. They are more widespread in less capital-intensive industries. Read more