Chapter 1
An Overview of the Family Business
Common Misconceptions of Family Businesses
Business historian Alfred Chandler assigned blame for the economic decline of Great Britain on family businesses. He described them as backward and small scale, with an inability to preserve financial capital.1 Many still hold this negative view today. Many of the terms used when discussing family businesses can be condescending: small, unprofessional, rife with conflict, unable to compete, nepotistic, often failing to succeed, financially underperforming, unfavorable work environments, slow growing, and supplying of dead-end jobs.
Critics cite the high failure rate of intergenerational transfer (succession) as evidence that family businesses are not well-run ...
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