Course 2026-2027 a.y.

• The relevance, distinctive features, and key challenges of family firms and family enterprises.
• The family business system: key actors, relationships, and dynamics.
• Ownership, stewardship, and long-term value creation.
• Governance and strategic drivers of continuity: family values, leadership, professionalization, innovation, and non-family stakeholders.
• Strategic decision-making and continuity strategies in family firms.
• Managing generational transitions: leadership succession, ownership transfer, and next-generation development.
• Conflict management and decision-making in family firms.
• Family offices and family wealth.
• Advising family enterprises: approaches, tools, and best practices.

• Explain the main theories underpinning the competitiveness, governance, and continuity of family businesses.

• Analyze the family business system, including its key actors, relationships, and underlying dynamics.
• Understand how family firms balance financial performance, family objectives, and long-term continuity.
• Evaluate the strategic and governance levers that contribute to long-term success and sustainability in family firms.
• Assess the factors that sustain both the continuity of the enterprise and the cohesion of the business-owning family across generations.

• Analyze, diagnose, and advise on strategic, governance, and succession issues in family enterprises.
• Formulate strategic responses to the governance, continuity, and generational challenges faced by family businesses.
• Design approaches to support the long-term continuity and sustainability of family enterprises across generations.
• Evaluate and manage the trade-offs between family, ownership, and business objectives in family firms.
• Strengthen teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills through case discussions, field projects, and group presentations.

• Lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Collaborative Works / Assignments

The course is highly interactive and focuses on complex decision-making processes in family enterprises. In addition to face-to-face lectures, students engage in case discussions that apply conceptual frameworks and analytical tools to real family business situations, enriched by testimonials from entrepreneurial families, executives, and supporting institutions. Students are encouraged to actively contribute to discussions, develop independent perspectives, and engage with peers, instructors, and guest speakers.

Students attending classes may further deepen their learning through a team-based field project designed to strengthen their ability to analyze and address real-world family business challenges.

Lectures

Lectures provide the foundational knowledge and theoretical frameworks necessary to understand the distinctive characteristics and challenges of family businesses. 

Guest Speaker Talks (In Person or Remote)

Guest speakers share practical experiences and managerial insights drawn from real-world contexts. Students are encouraged to actively participate through discussion and Q&A sessions that connect theory with practice.

Collaborative Work / Field Project

Students may work in teams on a field project involving the analysis of a real family business. The project is designed to develop analytical, problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills through the application of course concepts and frameworks to practical situations. Each team is expected to produce diagnostic insights and strategic recommendations addressing the challenges faced by the selected firm. Detailed guidelines are provided during the first week of class.

Attending students will be evaluated through a team field project (50%) and a final written examination (50%).

The final examination is closed book and consists of:

• Two closed-answer questions designed to assess students’ understanding of the key concepts, theories, and frameworks discussed during the course.
• One open-ended question aimed at evaluating students’ ability to critically discuss and integrate course materials for attending students.
• One open-ended question based on a short family business case (approximately 4–5 pages) not previously discussed in class, designed to assess students’ ability to apply theories and analytical frameworks to real-world situations.

Exchange students may take the examination during the special exam session scheduled in December.

Non-attending students will be evaluated entirely through the final written examination, which accounts for 100% of the final grade.

The final examination is closed book and consists of:

• Three closed-answer questions designed to assess students’ understanding of the key concepts, theories, and frameworks discussed during the course.
• Two open-ended questions aimed at evaluating students’ ability to critically discuss and integrate the course materials, including the additional textbook assigned specifically to non-attending students.
• One open-ended question based on a short family business case (approximately 4–5 pages) not previously discussed in class, designed to assess students’ ability to apply theories and analytical frameworks to real-world situations.

Exchange students may take the examination during the special exam session scheduled in December.

• D. Montemerlo and P. Morosetti (eds.), Strategic Management in Family Business: Selected Readings, Egea, Milan, 2026.

   

• Additional course materials—including teaching notes, slides, articles, and case studies—will be uploaded session by session on Blackboard.

• D. Montemerlo and P. Morosetti (eds.), Strategic Management in Family Business: Selected Readings, Egea, Milan, 2026.

• Additional course materials—including teaching notes, slides, articles, and case studies—will be uploaded session by session on Blackboard.

• Non-attending students are also required to study one of the following textbooks:

  • J. Baron and R. Lachenauer, The Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook: How to Build and Sustain a Successful, Enduring Enterprise, Harvard Business Review Press, 2021. 
  • A.R. Cohen and P. Sharma, Entrepreneurs in Every Generation: How Successful Family Businesses Develop Their Next Leaders, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2016.