Realizing abundant communal society, through establishment of expertise and social cognition of Family Business Consultants and Advisers, and supporting continuous development of family businesses.

 

Establishing Expertise

Family businesses need external advisors who can give objective feedback to the management. Owners and managers of family firms need to manage more complex mixture of stakeholders’ interests, because the element of family is added to the normal corporate structure. If this complex mixture of stakeholders is managed properly, family firms will have more strength than non-family firms. In these circumstances, special management approach for prosperity and sustainability of family businesses, instead of traditional approach for non-family businesses is required.

It is a management approach that joints three sub-systems of family business (family, business, and ownership) organically, regarding a family business as one whole system. In other words, it is a search for long lasting prosperity, while keeping enduring social trust and support by integrating effectively three sub-systems; family which is a system focused on love, emotion and equality, business which is a system focused on results and productivity, and ownership which is a system focused on return from investment.

There is no single absolute solution to a complex system like family business. Every family business has different background. Three elements of family business must be effectively integrated, and sustained and developed with long term trust and support by the society.

FBAA contributes development of family businesses by establishing expertise of family business consultants and advisors who support clients in optimal ways.

 

Working with Family Businesses

Thanks to the studies by the American and European scholars and researchers in recent three decades, family businesses are increasingly receiving positive recognitions. Family businesses hold 60% – 90% of the number of the companies in the world major countries including Japan. They are carrying important roles in the economy of each country. More than 80 American and European universities have established Family Business Centers, actively providing education to students, business people and specialists.

In America and Europe, several organizations including Family Business Institute (FFI) have developed systematic studies about how to advise family businesses. The necessities of consulting and advising for family businesses are recognized, and the methodologies are established.

The Japanese Academy of Family Business was established in 2008, and several graduate schools started family business courses. Accordingly, Family businesses, once perceived as a primitive form of business organizations and a background of corporate misconducts, are now beginning to be regarded as competitive and enduring form of businesses. However, although Japan is said to be a great nation of old firms, we are left behind other major countries in the field of consulting and advising.

In the context of rapidly changing business environment, due to declining birthrate and a growing proportion of elderly people, many companies are still repeating the same mistakes and failures, and facing fatal crisis.

FBAA will be a core of professionals who contribute to the development of family business clients, with integrated methodologies of latest studies and information on family businesses, including Japanese studies of corporate longevity, American and European studies of family businesses and consulting methods of FFI (Family Firm Institute).

 

What is family business?

Generally, family business refers to “Douzoku Kaisha”. However, aside from the definition of Corporate Tax Law, companies that are effectively governed or influenced by a certain family, mostly by founding family, are called family business. It includes multi-national enterprises such as Wal-Mart, Cargill, Toyota and Suntory, and many small-and-medium-sized businesses. According to FFI, family businesses create an estimated 70-90% of global GDP annually.