Entrepreneurs may be constrained by the law to bequeath a minimal stake to non-controlling heirs. The size of this stake can reduce investment in family firms, by reducing the future income they can pledge to external financiers. Using a purpose-built indicator of the permissiveness of...

We study whether and how family control affects valuation and corporate decisions during the 2008-2009 financial crisis using a sample of more than 8,500 firms from 35 countries. We find that family-controlled firms underperform significantly, they cut investment more relative to other firms,...

Family offices are currently the most attractive group of investors and their structure is more permanent that many of the world's strongest companies. They are the next hedge funds of the world, if not more. The family office is at the backbone of global commerce, primarily from permanent...

Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: History -- Chapter 3: Europe -- Chapter 4: The Americas -- Chapter 5: India & Asia -- Chapter 6: Family Office Investing -- Chapter 7:Governance, Succession and Fraud -- Chapter 8: Philanthropy -- Chapter 9: Patronage, Collecting & New Frontiers -- Chapter...

Family firms are known for their reluctance to invest in research and development. We show that strengthened trade secret protection is associated with higher R&D investment by family firms. More specifically, we show that the association between the strength of trade secret protection through...