With 175 family businesses on the Fortune 500 List - including DuPont, Motorola and IBM - there can be no doubt that family-run enterprises play an important role in global economic development. Their role is no less significant in China where, in keeping with the country’s rapid economic growth, an increasing number of family businesses are emerging. With unique characteristics that set them apart from other business types - succession, management, staffing, family affairs, strategy planning, governance structure -these commercial enterprises face particular challenges in survival and sustainability.

These are some of the issues explored in the newly published How Family Businesses Maintain Their Sustainable Prosperity - Break the curse of “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” The book, published in September 2007, was co-authored in English and Chinese by CEIBS Management Professor Jean Lee and Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Management of Chinese Academy of Sciences Hong Li.

The four-chapter book begins with three typical cases of modern Chinese family businesses - including food and beverage company Yeo Hiap Seng - to explore the specific problems that family businesses face. The authors then analyze seven long-standing family businesses in Europe, America and Asia, including Ford, Kikkoman, Samsung, and Formosa Plastics, in order to highlight the factors contributing to the success of family business management. The changing characteristics of Chinese family businesses is discussed next, in terms of the formation of the family business, ownership, family issues, and business issues. Finally, the authors introduce the latest developments in theoretical research on family businesses, enabling readers to consider the problems in these commercial enterprises from a broader perspective.

Since modern Chinese family businesses have only experienced one generation of growth and development, the book discloses 10 pitfalls companies are likely to face going forward. The authors offer valuable solutions for sustainable development.
How Family Businesses Maintain Their Sustainable Prosperity is highly recommended for Chinese family business owners and managers, as well as those wanting to understand family-run businesses. Its straightforward writing style, easy-to-understand explanations, and practical cases provide readers with much food for thought.