Understanding Family Enterprise: A Book of Readings

This collection of papers highlights the diversity in family business scholarship. The purpose of the collection is primarily to chronicle the distinctive learning experiences of Australian Centre for Family Business researchers rather than be a comprehensive coverage of all aspects of family enterprises. The papers are presented within a structure that represents a framework that has emerged from our work over the years. This framework is the basis of our understanding the why, the what, and the how by which family firms can achieve a distinct advantage over more widely-held companies. Specifically, these features that differentiate family controlled businesses (FCBs) from non-family businesses (NFBs) are discussed in terms of their Architecture (strategy inspired structures and systems), their Governance (Family and Business), their Entrepreneurship (Leadership and Strategy), and their Stewardship (Individual and Family).