Members Only—The Emergence of the Business Family as a Professionalized and Differentiated Organizational System

ABSTRACT The importance of business families is increasingly gaining attention. However, to truly understand business families and their dynamics, they must be viewed as distinct systems. Since this area has received limited scholarly focus, we argue that forming a new system is more than just an extension. Drawing on social systems theory, we propose a formalization and professionalization process that balances the conflicting expectations and complexities created by the different systems related to family, business and ownership. This functional differentiation not only enhances the understanding of the evolution and dynamics within this specific family type but also helps manage their unity.