Cultural Change in Family Firms: Anticipating and Managing Business and Family Transitions

Explains how to recognize, anticipate, and solve the problems created by the cultures of family firms as they grow and mature. Shows how culture can determine the success or failure of the firm based on comparative case studies of a wide range of successful and unsuccessful firmsincluding small businesses, new and well–estalbished firms, and such large corporations as Du Pont and Levi Strauss.

A Note to the Reader Preface The Author Part One: The Evolution of Culture in Family Firms 1. How Culture Affects the Firm′s Growth and Development 2. Understanding the Patterns of Business, Family, and Board Cultures 3. Leaders as Catalysts for Cultural Change Part Two: Anticipating Cultural Transitions from Generation to Generation 4. The First Generation: How the Founder Shapes the Culture 5. Conflicts and Power Struggles in the Second and Third Generations 6. Cultural Ramifications of Public Ownership and Professional Management Part Three: Managing Family Firms Successfully and Ensuring Continuity 7. Handling Key Transitions Effectively 8. Determining Culturally Based Problems and Initiating Change 9. The Twelve Signs of a Healthy Firm Appendix: Cultural Assumptions in Family Firms References Index