Family businesses: born or made

Anna Malykh

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

The field of family business has shown significant growth over the last decades; despite that, the knowledge about the transformation from a non-family-owned business to a family-owned enterprise and the shift in the owners' mindset and the company's environment that occurred is still limited. Therefore, the goal of the thesis to evaluate the commencement of the family enterprises and how the owners' goals and values change with the advent of the new ownership structure. As a family business is a unique organization, uncovering the hidden motives of decisions, actions, and objectives helps study how family firms are born or made. Using qualitative research, the author finds several reasons behind the creation of family businesses, such as family legacy and financial gains. The study's results also show that the goals and values of the owners tend to shift towards long-term sustainability, the decision-making process alters, and the importance of family and the organization becomes interconnected.

Abstract:

The field of family business has shown significant growth over the last decades; despite that, the knowledge about the transformation from a non-family-owned business to a family-owned enterprise and the shift in the owners' mindset and the company's environment that occurred is still limited. Therefore, the goal of the thesis to evaluate the commencement of the family enterprises and how the owners' goals and values change with the advent of the new ownership structure. As a family business is a unique organization, uncovering the hidden motives of decisions, actions, and objectives helps study how family firms are born or made. Using qualitative research, the author finds several reasons behind the creation of family businesses, such as family legacy and financial gains. The study's results also show that the goals and values of the owners tend to shift towards long-term sustainability, the decision-making process alters, and the importance of family and the organization becomes interconnected.

Keywords

shift in the ownership structure, owner’s goals and value, family business

Keywords

family business, shift in the ownership structure, owner’s goals and value

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 15. 5. 2023

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 8. 6. 2023
• Supervisor: Aleš Kubíček
• Reader: Martin Jurek

Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze

Bachelor programme:
Bachelor of Business Administration