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Taking as reference a sample of around a hundred biographical materials on entrepreneurs in Mexico and Colombia, the purpose of this chapter is dual. Both to show the relevance and varied modalities that the biographical approach has enjoyed in business history research since the 1990s, and to display the intrinsic potential this modality of scholarship entails for entrepreneurship endeavors. In particular, it discusses the prospects to incorporate this body of empirical works into the large Latin American audience attending undergraduate, graduate and executive education programs in business, economic history and related fields. The chapter is organized into three sections. The first two are devoted to illustrate relevant patterns in the entrepreneurial trajectory of individuals and entrepreneurial families studied in each of the two countries under consideration. The last section identifies some conceptual issues that may impact current debates on Latin American business development as exemplified in recent business and economic history journal venues and scholarly conferences.

This study aims to investigate the approaches to and the actions of integrated thinking (IT) based on stakeholder engagement practices to mitigate the perception of IT as an “abstract construct” and to overcome the “silos” thinking of managing, communicating and reporting.

The research develops a single case-study of a leading Italian company in the sustainability setting: Lavazza. The authors gathered in-depth information with semi-structured interviews on their approaches to IT and actions of IT and the related stakeholder engagement practices which involved over time.

This study addresses the concept of IT, arguing for integrated circularity as a strategic mindset, which builds upon open communication and collaborative partnerships with stakeholders for value creation.

The limitations of this study stem from the nature of a single case study, thus the findings are most relevant to those companies operating in comparable sectors with similar historical and organizational characteristics.

The study provides a systematic framework of IT approaches and related actions based on stakeholder engagement practices that define a company as an integrated thinker. This can be used by managers and companies to implement an integrated logic of thinking and reporting.

This is a pioneering study in this area as there are very few ones that take into account the relationship between the IT of design and reporting from a stakeholder perspective. The more IT is embedded in the business, the fuller the consideration of key stakeholders’ interests is incorporated as a relevant part of conducting business.

This paper aims to clarify the relationship between institutional framework, concentration of ownership in family firms and results.

Data comprises two samples of family firms from eight Latin American countries and Spain in the year 2010. The first sample contains the largest 20 corporations from each country. The second comprises the 20 largest listed family corporations in each country. To test the hypothesis, the study uses ordinary least squares.

First, firms located in countries with a higher than average quality of the institutional and regulatory frameworks are less concentrated in ownership than firms located in countries with lower than average quality and development of institutional and regulatory framework. Second, the influence of the concentration of the ownership in the performance is more important in countries with higher developed institutional and regulatory frameworks. Finally, first-generation large family firms obtain higher results than large family firms in second generation or beyond.

The study is limited to one year and there are few family firms in Latin American countries. The study only considers some features of ownership, and there is no information about board of directors ' composition.

Institutional framework determines concentration of ownership in family firms and the influence of concentration of ownership in performance.

The study provides new evidence in areas of corporate governance and family firms, analysing a sample of Latin American and Spanish firms, representatives of the civil legal system and a weaker institutional framework. The study uses the corruption perception index like a control variable.