Introduction: Presenting the case for studying the emergence and development of family business groups

In this book, we feel that understanding the formation, nature and complexity of family business groups requires a holistic understanding and integration of mainstream management business group research with research on portfolio entrepreneurship, transgenerational family business research and family ownership. We demonstrate that 'business groups' exist in forms that are not just large scale, but also small scale and even rudimentary. At one extreme, micro-scale entrepreneurs form 'proto-groups' of diversified very small and informal enterprises in response to new opportunities which could fall under the label 'pluriactivity', defined by Hetland as 'the diversification of activities carried out by one household on and off the holding, in order to secure the household's economy and welfare' (Hetland 1986, p. 385). Even at this micro-level, the importance of the family household, not the individual, as the unit of analysis has been stressed (Carter et al. 2004). At the other extreme are highly complex large transgenerational family business groups with over a hundred companies and intricate systems of ownership across many family members, including some non-family members. The neat well-organized multi-divisional forms of business groups are contrasted by messy horizontal and loosely organized business groups when family groups are examined. Many family business groups reflect the outcomes of differing and often conflicting family business and ownership agendas and strategies, and it is these issues that make large family business groups more complex than corporate groups. Therefore, a fuller understanding of family business groups requires not only blending and integrating these different strands of research, but also widening the scope of the research agenda to answer a greater range of questions. These would include the role of ownership in increasing the complexity of family business groups, to take a more holistic view of the field by discussing family business groups and portfolio entrepreneurship at different scales of size, different regional and industrial contexts, and to assess the overall contribution of family business groups to the economy and society. The structure of the book is designed to illustrate this wider perspective.