Families run a large fraction of business groups around the world. In this paper, we analyze how the structure of the families behind these business groups affects the groups' organization, governance and performance. To address this question, we constructed a unique data set of family trees and...

Families run a large fraction of business groups around the world. In this paper, we analyze how the structure of the families behind these business groups affects the groups' organization, governance and performance. To address this question, we constructed a unique data set of family trees and...

The choice of organization structure between business group and conglomerate depends on the cost of ownership and the cost of market contracting. The advantages of business groups come from its flexibility in ownership compositions and the limited liability of member firms in the event of...