Understanding Family Businesses

This book addresses the increasing prominence of family-owned business groups and their potential to influence growth and development in the global economy. Family businesses are not necessarily

by Keanon J. Alderson (Author)
This outstanding book provides you with a detailed look at family businesses, the most prevalent form of business in the world

This book provides insights into family businesses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using a unique collection of case studies that help gain a comprehensive understanding of UAE family firms' profiles and the ways they respond to everyday challenges and future disruptions. Cases treat different issues from the perspective of family businesses, such as succession, innovation, decision-making, strategic orientation, corporate governance, spatial distribution, SDG alignment, etc. Each case contains learning objectives, discussion questions, and suggested readings in order to help readers understand the topic discussed in the respective cases. This book also showcases the five business ecosystem stakeholders that have supported family businesses in the UAE, such as the UAE Government, free zone authorities, university and research institutions, support agencies, and venture capital companies.

The challenge faced by family businesses and their stakeholders, is to recognise the issues that they face, understand how to develop strategies to address them and more importantly, to create narratives, or family stories that explain the emotional dimension of the issues to the family.

Introductory section