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Family Business Review
Family Business Review is the scholarly journal of the Family Firm Institute.
The contents of FBR include articles of interest to researchers, academics, educators, and practitioners who serve family enterprises. The interviews below, conducted by Paul Karofsky, were published in FBR. Please click the titles below to read the full article.
A Conversation with Harry Levinson
Harry Levinson, PhD, is a pioneer in the people-management side of business. He is a professor emeritus at the Harvard Business School and Harvard Medical School and author of twenty Harvard Business Review articles and numerous books. He also established the Levinson Institute, which provides private consultation and seminars to executives of family and other businesses. He transferred from the Harvard Business School to the Harvard Medical School in 1972 after developing a seminar based on his book Organizational Diagnosis. Family Business Review, Vol. 10, No. 4, 411-419 (1997)
Interview with Massimo Ferragamo
Massimo Ferragamo is the youngest of six children of Wanda and the late Salvatore Ferragamo. Massimo, with his siblings and mother, has built Salvatore Ferragamo, SpA, into one of the world’s most highly recognized prestige brands of apparel and fashion ac- cessories. On May 14, 1997, Paul Karofsky met with Massimo Ferragamo in New York City. During the interview Karofsky asked Ferragamo to expand on and update several significant issues explored in the 1993 Harvard Business School case study of Salvatore Ferragamo, SpA. Family Business Review, Vol. 11, No. 2, 165-168 (1998)
Interview with Sampath Durgadas
In November 1998, Paul I. Karofsky visited with several family-owned and -managed businesses in India. The powerful cultural and family influences on family-owned enterprises sparked his desire to interview Sampath Durgadas, a visiting professor and consultant to family businesses at the Institute of Management in Bangalore. Over a 12-year period, Mr. Durgadas conducted extensive experiential research on the nature of transition in three family-owned companies. Although the focus of his work is on the four South Indian states of India, he traveled widely throughout the country. His book, entitled Inheriting the Mantle: Managing Succession in Indian Family Business, is under publication by Sage Publications New Delhi. Family Business Review, Vol. 13, No. 4, 339-344 (2000)
A Success Story: President of Four-Generation Family Business Talks About Strategy, “Giving Back,” and Gubernatorial Aspirations
Steve Grossman, Democratic candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, is president of MassEnvelopePlus in Somerville, MA, a full-service printing and graphic design firm started by his grandfather in 1910 and now a fourth-generation family business. He is also founder and president of Givenation.com, which helps nonprofit organizations raise funds online. Family Business Review, Vol. 14, No. 2, 159-167 (2001)
Interview with Ernie Boch Jr
Ernie Boch Jr. is the son of Ernie Boch, owner of the billion dollar New England Boch Enterprises. Ernie Boch Jr., vice-president of Boch Enterprises, takes a more laid back approach to this family business of automobile dealerships than his father, an extremely high-profile entrepreneur. After his father brings the customer through the door, Ernie Boch Jr. focuses on servicing him. In this interview with Ernie Boch, Jr., Paul I. Karofsky explores the history of the company and what makes it unique as well as Ernie Boch Jr.’s career track. Ernie Boch Jr. discusses how he differs from his father, plans for succession, and the enduring values and philosophy of this successful family business. He also reflects on the company’s continuing success—his commitment to Boch Enterprises’ long-standing philosophy of being No. 1, and his effort to bring the company into the modern age through technology. Family Business Review, Vol. 16, No. 1, 69-73 (2003)