The success keys for family firms : comparison between Lebanese and French systems

Abstract EN

This study investigates the success factors of French and Lebanese family firms.

Based on 351 firms from two different countries Lebanon and France the results of this study indicate that is very difficult to generalize the family success keys around the world without considering the culture and the economic situation of each country.

In France the family businesses are linked to six success keys (planning for succession, using of emotional intelligence, using of professional HR practices, longer term approach, using of small board’s size with high level of independence) while the performance of Lebanese family firms is dependent from seven success factors (financial structure with low leverage, planning for the next generation, using of emotional intelligence, using of professional HR practices with high level of networking, and finally, using of small board’s size with high level of independence).