Concise Introduction to the Family Firm

Our Elgar Concise Introductions are inspiring and considered introductions to the key principles in business, expertly written by some of the world’s leading scholars. The aims of the series are two-fold: to pinpoint the essential concepts of business and management, and to offer insights that stimulate critical thinking.

Building on the current structural focus of the family firm discipline, this Concise Introduction provides a function-based, processual approach to the area. It rethinks the nature of the family firm, advancing a deeper understanding of its internal dynamics. Ramona Kay Zachary, Sharon M. Danes and Elisa Balabram offer comprehensive theories of the family firm, the best methods of investigation, and the relationships among the owning family, its business as well as how these are interconnected.



Key Features:








Accommodates cultural nuances

In-depth exploration of conceptualizations of the family firm


Addresses planned and unplanned change in family businesses


Focus on the interface between the owning family and its business


Analysis of the operational and relational processes in both the family and the business



Concluding that both the owning family and its business have complexities such as operational, managerial, and relational processes that warrant further attention, this Concise Introduction will be essential reading for researchers and advanced students interested in entrepreneurship, family business and organisational behaviour. It will also be a key resource for family firm owners, practitioners and family business consultants.