The purpose of this doctoral course is to provide an overview of central perspectives (theories) and
themes (issues) in the field of family business research. With perspectives we refer to important theories
and conceptual frameworks that either have been applied in family business research or that harbor major
promise to be applied in this field of research. We explore the trends that have been in focus in family
business research so far – or that we see might become important over next years as the family business
field grows further. The course should provide students with an enhanced scholarly understanding of
family business research as well as active support in developing their own research project on family
business topics. More generally, the intention of the course is to train students’ capacity to act as critical,
independent and reflective researchers in this field of research. The course is international in the sense that
we will draw on theoretical perspectives, trends and topics of research applied in a variety of national and
cultural context.

On completion of the course, the students will be able to:

Present and critically discuss main theories and emerging conceptual perspectives in
contemporary family business research.

Identify appropriate perspectives to construct a theoretical framework for a research project in
family business.

Critically evaluate theoretical perspectives in the literature and discuss their appropriateness as
applied to a specific research project in family business.

The students will learn and discuss about the main theoretical perspectives in family business research and
explore the emerging trends in the field. The core of family business is the interaction between two
systems: the family and the firm. The combination of these contexts leads to specific characteristics that
we rarely see in other businesses, offering the unique opportunity to apply and extend conceptual
perspectives and theories originally developed in other fields and disciplines. The family business field is
also increasingly characterized by original efforts in theorizing new perspectives and exploring new
themes, offering a challenging opportunity to both advance the field and disseminate its findings in the
general debate in social sciences.

The course is based on lectures and seminars. Students are required to take an active approach to their
own learning. The course leaders will facilitate interaction and dialogue during the activities, but
participants will have to spend time on reading, writing and reflecting before and after the seminars.

The teaching is conducted in English.

Admitted to a doctoral programme in business administration or a related subject of a recognized business
school or university.

The course is graded Fail (U) or Pass (G).

The course will be examined in the following way:
• Seminars attendance and active contribution to discussion, ILOs 1
• Course paper, ILO 2
• Peer-review of other participants’ Course paper, ILO 3
All parts of the examination must be passed to achieve a grade in the course.
The grades for the course are “pass” or “fail”.

A course evaluation will be conducted at the end of the course.

Literature provided by the instructors.