Understanding the dynamics of business group development: A transgenerational perspective

One important characteristic of business group is the family involvement in management and ownership, influencing strategic decisions, focusing on economic value creation, and pursuing a mix of economic and non-economic goals. But more importantly, family business groups (FBGs) are also breeding grounds for transgenerational entrepreneurship because of the family intention to perpetuate the family legacy through business continuity. Although the family characteristic of business groups around the world is highly evident, family business groups are only partially acknowledged in current family business studies. While most studies focus on explaining why such business groups exist by assuming the traditional thesis that family business groups are a reaction to market failure, few have directed their attention to entrepreneurship as a consequence of the entrepreneurial ability of family members to mobilize resources. We aim to cover this gap by focusing on family business groups in developed countries and the transgenerational entrepreneurship characteristic of family business.