Family businesses: accept change, compete or get lost

Thanks to The Daily Star and DHL Worldwide for holding Bangladesh Business Awards for 22 consecutive years. Having been with its jury panel for nine years during the initial period, I know how tough it is to find the awardees, especially the individual businesspersons with respectable track records. While looking at the past awardees list, I could also see at least five of the businesspersons who couldn't hold up to our expectations and have gone underwater with a very bleak future for their family-owned businesses.

Family-owned businesses form the backbone of economies across the world, generating more employment and economic output than any other type of commercial organisation. Their unique vision, value, and legacy are evident in their deeply rooted value systems, practices, agile decision-making, and track record of legacy building. Their long-term values help them invest in strong, durable relationships with people and business partners, giving them a competitive edge.

However, we have also seen these businesses undergoing a downward trend after the demise of their principal architect or founder, making these one-generation or may be hardly two-generation businesses. Upon investigations, we learned about the causes being family feuds, absence of strategic direction, not being able to withstand competition, poor financial management, diversion of funds and inability to adopt to market changes. We also found that the next generation, especially daughters, not being interested in the business or even migrating abroad, captive management or decision-making in the hands of the promoters or no delegation of authority to the management or even internal corruption or defalcation of funds along with employee fraudulence.

Along with the above challenges, the key priorities facing the family-owned businesses over the next few years would also be improving digital capabilities, expanding into new markets, introducing new products and services, increasing use of new technologies and protecting the core business and covering costs. Many such businesses are already focusing on protecting their core businesses.

Issues related to sustainability are lower down the priority order for such businesses. They are slightly less likely to have at least one issue related to sustainability or the local community as a key priority compared with the global average.

However, most family-owned businesses in Bangladesh seemed to be positive about the clarity of roles and strength of leadership within the business. In addition, most such businesses, especially if the next generation is educated, feel the need to embrace rather than resist change.

We have already realised that digital transformation and innovation are key to the long-term success of businesses. And family businesses too must keep pace with digital technology or risk being blindsided by other game changers. Transformation can deliver a wide array of benefits to family-owned businesses, including helping them strengthen their competencies, optimise internal processes, become more customer-centric, improve decision-making, and achieve durable competitive advantage. In an increasingly complex and competitive world, achieving these outcomes is now more critical than ever.

Leading family-owned businesses across the world apply professional corporate governance processes and standards for many years. Globally, companies are moving towards implementing functioning family governance structures as well.

Succession is one of the most critical factors in sustaining the success and continuity of any family-owned business. This means it isn't simply an event, but a process that must be planned carefully. An effective business continuity or succession process must focus on areas ranging from leadership and ownership to values and purpose to wealth management and stewardship.

Various survey findings show that it's no longer enough to rely on values and legacy to propel the business forward. Tomorrow's family-owned business requires a new approach for lasting success, one based on accelerated digital transformation, prioritisation of sustainability goals, and professional family governance. It would soon be either accept change, compete or get lost.

The author is chairman of Financial Excellence