I’ve had a lot to do with family businesses, in India of course, but also in Britain, Spain and quite a few other places. In fact, I come from a family business. My father was head of a transport business and all his brothers (my uncles) and, maybe more important, all the brothers’ wives were in it too.
The wives didn’t work in it, of course, not in those days, but they were pretty good at being involved (and sometimes stirring up trouble — ‘he earns more than you’ or even ‘his office is bigger than yours’). The trouble with family businesses is that not every member of the family is suitable material. It isn’t just an issue of intelligence; it also has to do with motivation, temperament, age and a whole variety of other factors. Read the full article and share your comments on Reuters.
