Kolkata based Globsyn Group has launched the unique Asian Institute of Family Business (AIFB), which is directed towards research, education and advocacy of Family Business in India.

Unlike in the West, where there has been extensive research and studies carried out on both, family business management and entrepreneurship, research and affirmative action in India has been largely restricted to the entrepreneurship arena with almost little or no importance being paid to the study and research of family businesses despite the fact that for over a century, family-run business empires have held sway in India, so much so that Indian business families control 18 of the 30 firms on the benchmark BSE index, and a significant component of Indian GDP (in the range of 60 – 70%) is generated by family-run companies.

As the Indian economy grows at a fast pace, based largely on a conglomeration of family business ranging in size from micro to large multinational corporations, there is a profound lack of serious and in-depth research into family businesses, and the host of issues faced by them, for instance, reasons as to why a large majority of family firms don’t survive up to the 3rd generation; why are there generational issues in technology investments and change management; reasons for successful cousin consortiums; or why some businesses survive multiple generations and still hold majority stake in their organizations?

The AIFB is being projected as an institute focused on enabling the entrepreneurial growth of family firms and fostering the understanding of unique challenges and opportunities being faced by family run businesses, more so in the SME sector.

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