Abstract
Based on the case of the Franco-Mauritians, the white business elite of the island of Mauritius, this contribution argues that it is important to also analyse what happens when family businesses come to an ‘end’. Notwithstanding remarkable exceptions, many family firms struggle to prolong their existence over several generations—particularly from the third generation onwards. Yet in addition to family firms that go bust or otherwise cease to exist, the Franco-Mauritian case highlights that firms may continue to operate, just not in the hands of the same (extended) family. Instead, they may be sold on, frequently to other family enterprises. Accordingly, by virtue of some families facing difficulties managing their firms, other families may expand their business. To better understand this, the contribution argues for the relevance of studying whether, indeed, family firms more often purchase struggling family businesses, and what this implies for the (anthropological) analysis of family enterprises.
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Notes
- 1.
Interestingly, at around the same time, LVMH purchased another family firm with a history of over a century, Bulgari, without much opposition (Elliott, 2011). The heirs considered it actually beneficial to team up with the global conglomerate LVMH, as this would allow Bulgari to scale up. Yet with a majority stake, LVMH consolidated its position, more or less as a family firm, too, though rather as one in its first generation.
- 2.
https://www.iblgroup.com/our-history [accessed 26 May 2022].
- 3.
Since this 2002 IMF-World Bank report, much of the vast landholdings initially dedicated to sugar production have become more valuable through the conversion of land to property development.
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Salverda, T. (2023). The Other Side of Succession Issues: How the Decline of Some Family Businesses Allows for the Consolidation of Others. In: Koellner, T. (eds) Family Firms and Business Families in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20525-5_11
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