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All in the Family
Researcher examines challenges, rewards of family businesses Olga Bonfiglio
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family business isn’t just a career. It’s a way of life in which business owners are able to be their own boss, share a common history and identity, pass on the business to future generations and invest in the local community. Family businesses, defined as businesses that comprise two or more members of the same family who work together and control at least 15 percent of a company, are at the core of the American economy, representing 62 percent of the U.S. workforce and 35 percent of the companies on the S&P 500. While some of these businesses — such as Ford Motor Co., Wal-Mart, Amway, Meijer, Gordon Food Service and Stryker — have grown into global corporations, most remain small and make an economic impact in their communities through employment opportunities, sourcing for goods or services and contributions to charities. It is partly this ubiquitous nature of family businesses that attracted the interest of Laurel Ofstein, assistant professor of management at Western Michigan University. Ofstein became interested in researching the phenomenon of family businesses when she was assigned to teach a course in family business during her graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “I was struck then, and continue to be, by how many of the students I was teaching came from family businesses and how complicated their decisions were to enter the business or not,” Ofstein says. “I have been fascinated ever since to better understand how family businesses rely on their close relationships that have been established over many generations to drive firm strategy and innovation.” Brian Powers
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Laurel Ofstein, WMU assistant professor of management, researches the legacy of family businesses, such as local retailer George’s Appliance, which is in its third generation of operation by the Miyagawa family. w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 21