Creating Dynasties: Women Inclusion in Single-Family Offices Around the World

Abstract

This chapter explores how next-generation women owners participate and contribute to their families’ single-family offices (SFOs). To examine this issue, we analyze 12 SFOs from Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

Our results show that daughters actively participate in philanthropic efforts, community-based entrepreneurship projects and family council meetings. Yet, they are rarely involved in the SFO investment committees or board of directors. Moreover, female next gens are less likely to propose new business ventures to the family council or SFO board of directors. Apparently, daughters are not as encouraged as sons to create their own for-profit start-up. Family inclusive values and culture, parental influence and/or sibling’s encouragement, the presence of female role models, and the existence of a gender-diverse SFO top management team positively influence the way women owners relate to and connect into the SFO.

We realize, too, that when women owners are not involved in the family council, less family-related activities are promoted. Occasional family-related activities are associated with the family council limited operation and null vision of intergenerational wealth transfer. Further findings are grouped in five major themes: (1) Motivation to set up the SFO, (2) SFO activities, (3) New business ventures, (4) SFO governance structures and (5) SFO strategy and vision. Based on the SFO strategy, vision and activities, we identified four types of SFOs: The SFO as a Legacy School, as an Entrepreneurship School, as a Community School, and as a Decorative-Investment Arm.

Citation

Ding, H.-b., Hahn, K., Trevinyo-Rodríguez, R.N. and Gallo, M.Á. (2022), "Creating Dynasties: Women Inclusion in Single-Family Offices Around the World", Trevinyo-Rodríguez, R.N. and Gallo, M.Á. (Ed.) The Power of Inclusion in Family Business, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 191-214. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-578-420221011