Our Research

Common-sense and broad experience can go a long way toward finding solutions to the problems of family enterprises. But we believe that valuable knowledge can also be gained from good research and case histories.

We make use of our academic backgrounds to stay current with relevant work by business school researchers, family therapists, economic analysts, specialists in organizational behavior, and other social scientists. In addition, LGA maintains its own active research program. We do this not just because it informs our work with our own clients, but because we believe that remaining leaders in our profession requires contributing to the expansion of the knowledge base in our field. Our projects are funded by foundations, public agencies, companies, and – in many cases – by the firm itself. We are committed to the broadest dissemination of findings from any of our research efforts.

Our current research programs include: 

Complex Governance. A study of governance in family-controlled publicly traded companies included in the Fortune 1000. The project examines, through interviews and statistical analysis, how family control is maintained and its impact on corporate decision-making and performance.

Chinese Family Business. An analysis of governance and continuity in Chinese (mainland and overseas) family businesses.  This research project, sponsored by the HSBC Private Bank, looks at the impact of culture, history, economic trends, and family dynamics in the contemporary Chinese family company.  The publications that are emerging from this work follow similar LGA articles on family enterprise in Spain and Latin America (see the library section for available cites and publications).

Family Philanthropy. Continuing follow-up of our six-year study of leadership and continuity in family foundations in the U.S. and Canada. This ongoing research, initially funded by the National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP), elaborates on the findings reported in Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations (2004).  The current emphasis is on the "letting go" phenomenon in first-to-second-generations transitions in family foundations.

Senior Leadership. A pilot study for a major adult development research project on family enterprise leaders in the late adult transition years (ages 58-70), looking at the process of withdrawing from operational control and, subsequently, governance control.

Leadership Continuity. A theoretical formulation, supported by the analysis of case material, of the dynamic balance over time between personalized leadership and governance process.

Sailing Together. A study of how family collaboration in competitive ocean sailing races affected the performance of their boats and the families’ experience together.

We are always interested in hearing about ideas for new research projects, and in exploring collaborative efforts on new research initiatives.