Family businesses are the most common type of business in the world. However, the absence of a unanimous definition of the term, and the profound heterogeneity within that category, make their precise quantification difficult and fuel a debate that commits scholars to think about the meaning to be attributed to the expression “family business.” This book adds to the scholarly conversation by proposing the Psychological Ownership Theory as a new analytical perspective that involves the psycho-social sphere of the members of the entrepreneurial family.

Cinzia Dessì is an assistant professor of management in the Department of Economics and Business, University of Cagliari, Italy. She received her PhD in Management and holds a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Cagliari. She was the recipient of the 2017 de Visscher Scholarship for GEN and the recipient of the 2013 FFI Best Unpublished Research Paper Award. In March 2018 she received the FFI Certificate in Family Business Advising (CFBA).

Michela Floris is an assistant professor of Management in the Department of Economics and Business, University of Cagliari, Italy. She received her PhD in Management and holds a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Cagliari. Her main interest of research focuses on strategy, organizational goals and goal-driven behaviors in family firms, including entrepreneurship, marketing, innovation, and growth.

Louisa Diana Brunner, PhD, ACFBA, is a leadership consultant and coach, family business researcher, facilitator, and advisor. She is an FFI Fellow, and in 2020 she will join the FFI GEN faculty. She carries out selection and career counseling for MBA students at Bocconi University in Milan.

Living as a couple is a very important step in the life of any human being. Each person brings along a database, values, experiences, trends and attitudes toward life and money. More than half of the marriages that end in divorce identify financial misunderstanding as one of the causes. With the right tools, couples may increase their chances of staying together longer, with a mutual understanding of the purpose of money according to the values of both.

Elaine King is a Family Business Advisor™ and a Certified Financial Planner™ professional who focuses in international family financial planning. An ambassador for the CFP Board of Standards, she is the founder of Family and Money Matters™. Elaine is a Florida Supreme Court Family Mediator and a Certified Coach from the University of Miami (ICF) and the 2019 recipient of the Fitzpatrick & Francis Family Business Continuity Foundation Scholarship.

This working paper describes how hundred-year family enterprises embrace and practice social impact. Long before the words “stakeholder value,” “triple bottom line,” and “impact investing” entered business schools and boardrooms, Centennial family conglomerates were pioneering growth strategies that incorporated and put these concepts in action. The authors share key insights and dozens of stories about how long-lived business families preserve their wealth, impact, and connection as a family across generations.

Dennis Jaffe is an FFI Fellow and recipient of FFI’s 2017 International Award and 2005 Richard Beckhard Practice Award. He is with Wise Counsel Research based in San Francisco and the author of several books, including Stewardship in Your Family Enterprise and Cross Cultures. A GEN faculty member, he has proved global insights that have led to teaching or consulting engagements in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. The co-authors are Isabelle Lescent-Giles and Jamie Traeger-Muney.

Wealth of Wisdom offers essential guidance and tools to help high-net-worth families successfully manage significant wealth. By compiling the 50 most common questions surrounding protection and growth, this book provides a compendium of knowledge from experts around the globe and across disciplines.

Tom McCullough, co-author, is Chairman and CEO of Northwood Family Office, a multi-family office which serves the comprehensive financial needs of families of significant net worth. Tom has spent over 30 years in the field of family wealth management and is also an adjunct professor of Private Wealth Management at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Tom is an FFI Fellow. The co-author is Keith Whittaker.