Family-controlled businesses in India: a shareholding pattern-based definition

Abstract

While the subject of family-controlled businesses, including their evolution and comparative performance, has been the topic of academic scrutiny in multiple contexts abroad, there have been almost no empirical studies on this topic in the Indian context. This is surprising given the perceived historical relevance of, and prevalence of, family-controlled businesses in India. Although a few inconsistencies do exist, a generally acceptable definition of a 'family-controlled business' can be determined in international studies. However, those definitions have not been examined in the Indian context and may not apply to Indian firms-a situation which this paper examines based on a study of shareholding patterns in a sample of 362 Indian firms over a ten-year period. Further, the paper attempts to determine an appropriate definition for a family-controlled business in India.