EFR-Eclaire Volume 33 Number 3 'Family Businesses'

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Index world

Family Businesses

EFR

Activities overview

PROS AND CONS

CITY TRIP PRAGUE

ESE

Who would you have a family business with?

Find out how it was!

Photopage Pros and cons of family businesses

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City Trip Prague Conflicts within family businesses

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16/17 Dutch family businesses 18/19 Get in the Ring

throughout the years

Get in the Ring

Family Businesses

THE INVESTMENT BATTLE

DUTCH FAMILY BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT HISTORY

Who was knocked out?

And who was not?

All in the family.

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Family Businesses

WHO WILL LEAD IT?

Succession or submission, make a plan.

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Who will lead my family business

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Family Businesses vs. traditional Corporations

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Three Questions for...

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COLOFON Editorial Address Burgemeester Oudlaan 50 HB-20 3062 PA Rotterdam tel: 010 - 408 11 46 email: reporters@efr.nl Visual Styling Buro NCP

Printing OCC De Hoog

Editor in Chief Floris van Prooyen Schuurman

Commercial officer Johan Schoone

Secretary Marc Hendrickx Writers Jasper de Ruijsscher Charlotte Sonneveld Max Eleveld Mark Marich

EFR Activities Committee Nina Zimberlin Floris van Prooyen Schuurman

If you no longer wish to receive the EFR-Eclaire, please send an e-mail to info@efr.nl

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Foreword world

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WORD OF PRESIDENT WORD OF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DEAR READERS, Thank you for reading the newest EFR-Eclaire edition about family businesses. Personally, I do not have a lot of experience with family businesses, but if anything relates to a family business it is the EFR. As a group of 120 Active Members organising activities together, the family feeling is sometimes very present. Knowing each other that well besides working together intensively can cause some struggles.

However, the advantage of being familiar with each other improves working performance. Working together so intensively helps you develop and figure out your own strengths and weaknesses, Committee Members know you so well they can easily confront you with them. Knowing this makes me realise that family businesses are a very strong form of teaching, you will go through rapid development when being around family members so frequently. This makes family businesses as such, an interesting form of business to study, their way of working is rather different than business forms we are used to study. Talking about business forms, have you already thought about at which company form you would like to work at? If not, you can join us at the EFR-Business Week, where different companies will inform you about their way of doing business. Furthermore, interesting speakers will enlighten us with their vision on different business forms and on what sparks them. If you want to know more about this event you can check this Eclaire, or visit our website at www.efr.nl/bw.

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For now, I wish you good luck with your studies, and I hope to see you at one of our events soon.

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Kind Regards, Nienke Benders President of the 49th EFR-Board

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Despite the current state of our economy a lot of family businesses are doing well. They survive the crisis thanks to prudent investments and a focus on sustainability instead of high profits. In this Eclaire you can find out more about family businesses, for example that some family businesses are hundreds of years old. The oldest family business in the world even is almost 1300 years old! You can read more about the history of family businesses in the article ‘All in the family: Dutch family businesses throughout the years’.

Although family businesses can be very successful, sometimes conflicts arise between the family members. A family would not be a family without a good fight once in a while, but conflicts can inhibit the profitability of the family business in the long run. In the article ‘Conflicts within business families’ you learn how to prevent these conflicts. With conflicts within the business family being a big disadvantage of family businesses, you may ask yourself whether having a family involved in a business is the best way to run it. In this Eclaire we also consider the pros and the cons of family businesses, so read about it and find it out yourself!

Enjoy reading this Eclaire!

Floris van Prooyen Schuurman The Chairman of the EFR-Reporters

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world EFR

ACTIVITIES OVERVIEW MARCH 06

SKI TRIP AFTERPARTY

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EFR-DRINK

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STARTWEEKEND REUNION

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MARKETING DAY

APRIL 03-11 16

EFR-BUSINESS WEEK

RECRUITMENT DRINK FULL-TIME POSITIONS

MAY 01

RECRUITMENT DRINK FULL-TIME POSITIONS

02-10 02

EFR-STUDY TRIP

EFR-DRINK

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world ESE

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ERASMUS SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Ese Congratulates Joost Van Gemeren For the first time in the history of the ESE, a student received his bachelor degree summa cum laude. EFR Member Joost van Gemeren successfully completed International Bachelor Economics and Business Economics (IBEB) with an average grade of 9.01. This excellent ESE student received his Bachelor degree from the hands of Rob van der Wal during the Bachelor Graduation Day ceremony on November 2, 2012. Joost van Gemeren is currently following his Master in Economics and Business with great enthusiasm, where he continues to impress us with excellent results.

New (Dutch) Bachelor Programme at the Erasmus School of Economics From September 2013 a new bachelor programme at the ESE will open its doors to new students. It is a combined programme consisting of the Bachelors Ecometrics and Operations Research (Dutch) as well as Bachelor Economics & Business Economics (Dutch).

The new programme, ‘BSc2Econometrie/Economie’ aims at attracting excellent and motivated students with a wide interest in both areas of expertise. They get the opportunity to conclude the bachelor fase of both programmes in four years, after which they will be able to follow a combination of two master programmes. This can be two masters from both Economics and Econometrics or a combined master with one specialisation which will be studied from economic and econometric perspective, such as ‘Finance’ or ‘Marketing’.

LA CUM A M SUM

UDE

More information is (soon) available at www.ese.eur.nl/bachelor!

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Family world Businesses

PROS AND CONS OF FAMILY BUSINESSES

Family businesses are a true phenomenon in business. Before the economic crisis, the Netherlands had a count of 180.000 family businesses, which were responsible for 40% of the total employment and 50% of the Dutch GNP. Why do family businesses have such a big position within the economy and how do they affect it?

Text: Jasper de Ruijsscher

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Family Businesses world

Let us start with the pros of family businesses. One of the biggest pros and also the most important factor of the success of family businesses is stability. In family businesses, ownership and leadership is passed to family members. This means that long-term policy can be implemented, while there is no pressure for profit from the shareholders.

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The second factor behind the power of family businesses is the limited size of the board. Decisions about policies and the future of the company are made by only a handful of people, typically those who had been in the business long enough and were passed down their job from relations before them. This results in an easier and more effective way of decision-making.

An important factor behind this stability is the trust between family members in the company. Within the company, there is a clear hierarchy of power. This stability normally leads to trust and good relations with customers.

Of course, there are disadvantages to running a family business. For example, managerial positions are reserved for family members, even though these members may not have the skills for the particular role they are cast in, or there might be someone better suited but with less significant familial ties.

One of the main characteristics of insufficient skills in management is bad communication between management and employees.

To conclude: the success of family businesses mainly lies in the area of ownership. Due to family ownership there is less pressure for profit and more space for long-term policy.

The fund of family businesses mainly comes from family members and just a little amount is external. Hereby, family businesses are less influenced by economic crises, which might be the key to their overall success. Disadvantages of family businesses are the sometimes incapability of directors and not making a break between private and business.

In general, the disadvantages arise particularly when there is trouble within the company, in turn affecting family relations. This situation mainly arises when members of family can’t separate business and private matters. One special situation from which family problems can occur is when the owner of a business passes away and there are no agreements regarding succession.

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interview naam studie leeftijd functie bedrijf woonplaats

Maartje de Lau MSc International Business 28 Management Trainee Randstad Utrecht

Wanneer ben je begonnen bij Randstad?

Mijn eerste werkdag bij Randstad was meteen een bijzondere dag; het hele kantoor in Utrecht was versierd met slingers en ballonnen en er werd taart bezorgd! Ik was erg onder de indruk door de ontvangst van mijn collega’s maar kwam er al snel achter dat ik begon op de dag dat Randstad haar 50e verjaardag vierde! Dat was 29 september 2010 en inmiddels ben ik dus ruim 2 jaar in dienst.

Wat maakte dat je bij Randstad wilde solliciteren?

Randstad bood alles wat ik in een baan/ traineeship zocht en meer. Zoals mijn studiekeuze al aantoont, ben ik een generalist bij uitstek. Ik vind het heerlijk om me bezig te houden met alle aspecten van een multinational (management, sales, marketing, procesmanage­ ment, HR, finance), zonder een richting te kiezen. Ik krijg veel verantwoordelijkheden en ik draai echt mijn eigen stukje Randstad, daar krijg ik een kick van! Daarnaast biedt Randstad mij de kans om 1 dag per week mijn baan ‘on hold’ te zetten. Dan kom ik met alle trainees bij elkaar op het hoofdkantoor om samen aan een opdracht te werken op strategisch niveau in de ‘Denktank’. De resultaten presenteren we rechtstreeks aan de directie van Randstad.

Tenslotte hebben we met de traineegroep eens per half jaar een intervisiesessie waar we inzoomen op leervoorkeuren, communicatie­ stijlen en ontwikkelingpunten, samen met professionele coaches. Dit biedt veel inzicht in mijn eigen persoonlijkheid, in wat mijn eigen

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sterke én verbeterpunten zijn. Door mezelf zo goed te leren kennen ontwikkel ik mezelf in een hoog tempo. Nog even terugkomend op het internationale karakter van mijn studie; Randstad is in haar markt de op een na grootste speler wereldwijd en heeft kantoren in 45 landen, dus genoeg kansen en dromen voor de toekomst!

Hoe ervaar je je traineeship zover?

Dynamisch, flexibel en uitdagend. De eerste maanden kreeg ik de vrijheid om me te focussen op mijn eerste baan. Op het moment dat ik daar in de ‘comfort zone’ zat, werd mijn uitdaging en ontwikkeling geborgd door opdrachten voortkomend vanuit mijn deelname aan de Denktank en intervisie­ sessies. Daarnaast ben ik zelf verantwoordelijk voor mijn traject en in overleg met mijn manager en coach geef ik hier verdere invulling aan. Ik ervaar dit als zeer prettig; ik ben en blijf zelf in control.

Wat houden jouw dagelijkse bezigheden in?

Ik werk in de core business van Randstad als accountmanager voor mooie bedrijven in de regio Utrecht. Samen met mijn klanten hou ik mij bezig om de juiste mensen op de juiste plek te krijgen. Daarnaast probeer ik steeds vanuit een helikopterview naar de regio en mijn werk te kijken om te zien waar, indien nodig, processen verbeterd kunnen worden.

Tenslotte neem ik een dag in de week deel aan de Denktank op het hoofdkantoor van Randstad.

Wat is de volgende stap naar jouw top?

Mijn eerste stap na mijn traineeship is om uit te stromen als rayonmanager. Dit kan al als je 2,5 jaar in dienst bent. Mijn ambitie is om voorlopig in de corebusiness te blijven werken.

Ik hou van de dynamiek, de snelheid en de directe zichtbaarheid van resultaten. In de toekomst lijkt het me super om de uitstap te maken naar het buitenland. Echter heb ik geen rechtlijnig doel waar ik binnen Randstad over enkele jaren wil staan. Mijn persoonlijke motto is dat de beste kansen juist op onverwachte momenten langskomen. Daarbij verandert er nu en de aankomende jaren genoeg in de business van Randstad en wil ik juist ook voor onverwachte kansen open staan!

Wat is volgens jou de sleutel naar succes?

Probeer te blijven kijken naar wat echt bij je past. Ga niet voor een naam, status of een salaris, maar voor een goed gevoel, plezier en uitdaging op je werk. In mijn baan zie ik iedere dag weer wat de juiste baan voor mensen doet. Ik snap heel goed dat deze zoektocht niet makkelijk en soms echt een bittere pil is.

Zit je even stuk? Vraag eens aan mensen in je directe omgeving waar ze je vinden passen, of probeer eens objectief naar je CV te kijken.

Welke lijn kun je daarin terugvinden? Probeer die eens te volgen!

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EFR world

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CITY TRIP PRAGUE There we were, after weeks of happy anticipation we were leaving Rotterdam with a bus full of enthusiastic students to see Prague. A few movies, lots of getting to know each other and twelve hours later we arrived in one of the most beautiful cities of Europe. After unpacking our stuff we got acquainted with the Czech nightlife for the first time and drunk our first Czech beers. ‘The morning after’ it was time for some sightseeing. First we visited the ancient Prague Castle where a guide led us through the Cathedral. Next up was a visit to the Prague University of Economics, where we were informed about studying in Prague. In the evening we visited an authentic Czech brewery for a guided tour and dinner. Afterwards everyone was off to discover Prague by night.

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Saturday morning contained a visit to the museum of Communism. After this impressive display we had a free afternoon to see some of the many highlights of Prague.

Enjoying yet another typical Czech meal the group went to see Karlovy Lazne. In the biggest nightclub of Central Europe we danced the night away… Unfortunately we had to leave Prague on Sunday, but everyone felt the way they should; completely exhausted but satisfied with the memories of an amazing weekend!

The Activities Committee

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Family world Businesses

CONFLICTS WITHIN FAMILY BUSINESSES One of the biggest problems of family businesses is conflict between the family members.

Such conflicts inhibit the profitability of the business and can cause hard feelings within the family. Both the family and the business are much better off when conflicts are prevented rather than resolved. The most common conflicts concern stock ownership, children in the business and succession. How can these conflicts be avoided?

Text: Floris van Prooyen Schuurman

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Family Businesses world

Stock ownership in a (small) family business creates enormous responsibilities. Family members who own stock, but are not involved in the family business are likely to make decisions that are in their own interest and not in the interest of the business. A family member who receives an annual distribution and who is not involved in the business is not likely to vote in favor of an investment, because that will reduce the annual distribution that year. That is why it is advisable that not every family member owns stock, but only the ones who actually work within the business.

Another example of wrongful division of stock is by rewarding a loyal employee with their own share. This gesture of goodwill, however, often turns out to create more problems than it does good. Think about situations where the employee retires or dies. Or what happens if the employee has the decisive vote in a conflict situation?

To prevent these situations from happening it is better to reward the employee in another way.

Although it can be very rewarding to see your child take over the business, this is also a potential conflict-creating situation Most business owners are eager for their children to become active in their family business. Although it can be very rewarding to see your child take over the business, this is also a potential conflict-creating situation. However successful the said child may become within the industry, his mother and father will always regard him as a child.

So too the child develops the need to obtain his parents

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approval- not only because they are his parents, but also because they are his employers. The lengths to which he may go to win the approval often results in stressful situations. With an increasing number of children working in the family business the list of potential conflicts grows longer. Therefore it is recommended for a business owner to show his children his appreciation and learn his children to cooperate instead of to compete. When your children do not get along, it is better to not involve any of them in the family business at all.

A big misconception concerning family businesses is about succession. Many owners of family businesses believe the division of stock in their will is in fact a succession plan. This is not correct. Succession planning requires understanding of the position of the family members involved and appreciation of the involved emotions. The younger generation wants to know who will be the next leader of the company and if they are not chosen, what will be their career path. It is better not to postpone the decision of who will be the next leader of the business. It is not unusual that the leader of a family business dies unexpectedly without assigning a successor.

Leaving the choice of a successor up to the family leads to a stressful situation in bad circumstances, and should thus be avoided by having a predetermined plan well ahead of time.

Of course it is impossible to avoid every conflict within a business family. A family would not be a family without a good fight once in a while. With the tips in this article however the conflicts that rip apart whole families and businesses can be prevented.

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Involve world

ADVO W

Wereldhave, opgericht in 1930, is een Nederlandse vastgoedbelegger met winkelcentra en kantoren in haar portefeuille. De aandelen van Wereldhave zijn genoteerd aan de effectenbeurs van Euronext Amsterdam. www.wereldhave.com

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Involve world

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O WHD

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Get in the Ring world

GET IN THE RING

THE INVESTMENT BATTLE

On the 14th of November, the Laurenskerk was transformed into a magical arena where eight international startups met each other in a boxing ring to compete for an investment of up to 1,000,000 Euros. The Italian Risparmio Super ensured a knock-out and went home with the championship belt.

An audience of about 750 watched eight international startups, including two Dutch contenders, battle each other in four rounds, guided by the skilled host James Digby. The startups - Holland Haptics and Innovader (Netherlands), Graduateland (Denmark), Watchado (Austria), CrystAL-N (Germany), Cookisto (Greece), Zentrick (Belgium) and Risparmio Super (Italy) - found each other in the ring

competing to convince a team of champions - prominent investors - to invest in their startups. The champions included the international investors Melih Odemis (Turkey), Michael Friebe (Germany, German business angel of the year 2011), Michiel Muller (Netherlands, founder of Tango and Route Mobiel) en Frank Peters (United States).

Text: Mark Marich

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Get in theworld Ring

Frank Peters, part of Tech Coast Angels, the largest business angel network in America, opened the event as keynote speaker. He spoke about the crucial role a solid team plays in the success of a startup. Not only do the employees in the office play a role in this team, one’s life partner on the home front is also important to the success of a business.

After a short break, Jonathan Ortmans, president of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), spoke about his travels around the world to support and stimulate entrepreneurship. He praised Rotterdam’s Get in the Ring as one of the most prestigious entrepreneurial events during the GEW and pointed out that at the same time all over the world events on entrepreneurship were happening.

And the winner is…

The event closed with the announcement of the winners by Jonathan Ortmans and Hendrik Halbe, initiator of Get in the Ring. The 750-member audience, comprised of investors, entrepreneurs and ambitious students, chose Risparmio Super as the winner of the day. The Italian Risparmio Super received the championship belt and rang the closing bell at the AEX on Thursday, November 15th.

In addition to the overall winner, the Greek venture iKiosk won the social media award, a prize worth EUR 4,000.

The Greek team, which garnered more than 1200 votes online, also won the chance to give their pitch live in the ring during the event.

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After the ceremony at the podium, the rest of the evening was busy with a closing dinner. People with good ideas were coupled with people with the will to invest. We are sure to hear more about this in the coming months.

Global Entrepreneurship Week Get in the Ring is one of the eight featured events over the whole world during Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW). GEW inspires worldwide more than 7 million people to make their innovative and creative ideas a reality and to discover the entrepreneur in themselves. Millions of entrepreneurs come together each year during the third week in November to be a part of over 33,500 events.

‘Get in the Ring’ is organised by the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship and the Economic Faculty association Rotterdam (EFR).

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world Businesses Family

ALL IN THE FAMILY

DUTCH FAMILY BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE YEARS One of the oldest forms of corporate organisation involves family. Throughout time, family businesses have played an important role in the economic development of the Netherlands.

Some of these businesses have been around for many centuries, whereas others have been established only recently. Most of these companies are very small indeed, although some have risen to great size and wealth over the past decades. In this piece, some of these Dutch family businesses will be discussed, to get an idea of their diversity, their overall wealth and their future.

For starters, let us take a look at some of the richest people in the Netherlands nowadays. The top-five of richest people in the Netherlands consists mostly of members of a family business.

Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken (Heineken), Frits Goldschmeding

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(Randstad), Wijnand Pon (Pon Holding) and Dik Wessels (VolkerWessels) all owe their wealth to family businesses.

Together, they are valued at 11,5 billion euro’s. Obviously, holding on to a family business can prove to be very profitable in some cases!

Running a well-established family business is not always a guarantee for great wealth though. Of the current twelve oldest family businesses in the Netherlands, only two have managed to establish themselves amongst the hundred most profitable businesses of the Netherlands: beer brewer Bavaria and distillery Nolet. Strikingly, both of these companies play an important role in the European drinking industry.

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world Family Businesses

The oldest Dutch family business however has nothing to brewing beer. It’s called Touwfabriek Van der Lee, and it has everything to do with ropes. Ropes? Yes indeed. For over four centuries – the company was founded in 1545 – the company has been tying up loose ends, producing great amounts of rope every year.

Although operating a family business for four consecutive centuries is impressive, this is nothing compared to the oldest family business in the world. This honor goes to the Hoshi Ryokan, a hotel in the Japanese city of Komatsu. It was founded in the year 717! Over the past thirteen centuries an incredible sixty four generations of the Hoshi family have successfully managed and operated the hotel. It seems uncertain any Dutch family business will ever manage to match this achievement.

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This is because of the uncertain future many Dutch family businesses currently face. A research conducted by Ernst & Young concluded that only ten percent of Dutch adolescents with entrepreneurial parents want to continue their parents’ business. Since family businesses often owe their success to experience and good customer relations, this unwillingness probably will prove to be a great challenge for many of these companies.

In the end we can conclude that some of the top Dutch family businesses not only can be very profitable, but are very diverse as well. In some cases these companies have managed to survive for hundreds of years, although this might come to an end soon. The willingness amongst youngsters to continue their parent’s business seems to disappear, which makes for a cloudy future for Dutch family businesses. Hopefully, family businesses in the Netherlands will continue to leave their mark on the Dutch economy in the next decades.

Text: Max Eleveld

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world Businesses Family

WHO WILL LEAD MY FAMILY BUSINESS? Text: Charlotte Sonneveld

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For several centuries family businesses have been the dominating form of entrepreneurship in the Netherlands. At least 260.000 family businesses are responsible for half of the Dutch employment and more than half of the national income. Family businesses often seem more resistant against economic downfall because of the personal commitment in the company and the generally conservative policy. Therefore the importance of family businesses should not be underestimated. Especially the succession in family businesses should pass successfully.

However, research shows us that 77% of the youngsters worldwide are not interested in taking over their parents’ businesses. In the Netherlands this is even 90%. Disquieting numbers since this endangers the future of many family businesses. Statistics also show that from 1924 to 1984 eighty percent of two hundred successful manufacturers no longer survived, and only thirteen percent are still owned by the same family as in 1924. Besides the lack of interest in taking the family business, youngsters that do take over the business often end up dropping out anyway. One of the reasons of this demise in family business is the inability in strategically planning for the future of the firm.

Leadership succession is planned seldom because most stakeholders in family businesses have mixed feelings about succession planning. They encounter psychological deterrents to succession planning because it includes losing power. In addition family business leaders are afraid to lose the central role within their family.

Family business owners should plan the leadership transition on time. Even if it is still a long time before they are done leading the business, it is important to overthink the options of succession

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early. It is sensible to start planning five years before the transition. One very important aspect is investigating the options within the family. When it is preferred to find a successor within the family this should be discussed with family members. Important is to be open and honest to prevent conflicts but moreover to be sure that nobody will face surprises. Expectations should be expressed from day one. A common problem in family business successions is the fact that parents and their children assume that they understand each other. This is a mistake. Parent and child are emotionally engaged in the transition process and are less able to relativise things.

Family business owners should plan the leadership transition on time. It is important to think over the options of succession early.

Is nobody in the family willing or able to take over the business? There are many other possibilities. The fact that there is not much interest within a family to run the business in the future does not mean that the business is due to fail. It is important though that this is known early, because many options remain then. One option is to find out if there are competitors who are

interested in the acquisition. Often this concerns a strategic purchase. Another possibility is to look for Management Buy Out (MBO) candidates. This way a partner stockholder or employee takes over the business, which can be very successful since they know the company well. Finally there is the option to find a Management Buy In (MBI) candidate. Often these are starters or private individuals who want to use an acquisition to start their business career.

Since it is the lack of planning that is often the cause of the demise in family businesses and not the fact that there is not any family member willing to take over, family business owners should start thinking on time about who will lead their business in the future. If it will not be a son or daughter that will take over there are still many options to remain. Planning is the key to the future of family businesses.

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world Businesses Family

FAMILY BUSINESSES VS. TRADITIONAL CORPORATIONS One of the oldest forms of corporate organisation involves family. Throughout the time, Dutch family businesses have played an important role in the economic development of the Netherlands.

When picturing a typical family business, one is prone to imagine a local store run by a woman selling her husband’s fresh farm goods, or a young man helping out in his father’s little restaurant. A family business is a non-threatening concept, especially when put up against a big, booming corporation which sole purpose is to generate the maximum amount of profit attainable. But these are preconceived notions that may be far off their mark. By examining where these companies stand in relation to one another within the economy, why certain connotations are made to the different companies, and what the future holds in store for each of them, one might be able to take a more educated look at who truly sits at the head of the table.

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The distinction between a family business and a corporation is in itself wrong. A family business, although in some cases small and close-knit, may very well be just as much of a condescending giant as any other firm. Wal-Mart, for example, is family owned, yet is easily as powerful as any traditional corporation built by the best in the industry. In fact, family businesses account for more than 30% of all companies with sales in excess of $1 billion (about 770 million dollars), and make up 60% of all European companies. It is therefore safe to say that a traditional power-driven firm is easily comparable to the quaint image conjured up by a family business.

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After finishing his study of Bedrijfskunde at the Erasmus University, Mr. Bob de Kuyper started his career in 1977 at the family company, De Kuyper Royal Distillers, one of the world’s largest producers of alcoholic beverages. In 1991 he became CEO of De Kuyper.

He resigned in 2009 and is currently a part time associate at Bakkenist. Having specific knowledge of family businesses, Mr. de Kuyper is a board member of four family owned companies and of the international association of family companies ‘Les Hénokiens’.

In what way do family businesses distinguish themselves from quoted companies?

What other advantages do family businesses have in comparison to quoted companies?

How does the future look for mayor family businesses within the Netherlands?

First I would like to state that the regular conduct of business is not all that different for family and non-family businesses. A family business, as every company, must be able to be profitable.

However, family businesses have a tendency to create a blend of family culture and business culture altogether.

This is especially notable with some of the older family businesses. The families maintaining these businesses really put their mark on their company, making almost every family business truly unique.

Family businesses have a much better long-term view. For family businesses it is vital to be able to keep the company’s ownership within the family, for generation after generation.

Every one of these generations on itself aims to improve the business in their own, unique way. This leads to much different, yet good input throughout the years, which is a great way to guarantee continuity. Stock holders of a quoted company often want to make big money in a short period of time, regarding the continuity of the company less important. Besides that, the power that stock holders of quoted companies possess is, in my opinion, greatly exaggerated. This creates quite some pressure on the company’s owners.

Within a family business, this power is mostly a lot smaller.

The changes for family businesses will continue to grow in my opinion. Over the past decades, family businesses have proved to be an important part of the Dutch economy. This will not change within the future. Luckily Dutch regulations and taxes regarding family businesses are slowly being overturned. Furthermore I believe that Dutch students nowadays are much more willing to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. This also adds to my belief in the future of family businesses.

Text: Max Eleveld

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