Report: Family businesses becoming ‘more pivotal' in Mideast




Family-owned businesses constitute 80% of all companies in the Gulf region and account for most of the region’s non-oil revenues,

a

Financial Times

report noted.

“As governments in the Middle East try to reduce dependence on hydrocarbons revenues and generate more productive employment opportunities for the region’s growing youth population, the role of family businesses is becoming ever-more pivotal,” the article said.

The report noted that demand for family business education is growing in the region. The oil businesses that were started in the 1960s are now moving into the third and fourth generation, and “family rivalries can set in as some units outperform others, prompting arguments over resource allocation,” the article said.

Nigel Nicholson, a professor of organizational behavior at London Business School, told the

FT

that demand is high among Gulf region family business owners for information on governance, succession planning and clarification of values and culture. (Source:

Financial Times,

April 28, 2014.)

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