Family businesses: born or made

The field of family business has shown significant growth over the last decades; despite that, the knowledge about the transformation from a non-family-owned business to a family-owned enterprise and the shift in the owners' mindset and the company's environment that occurred is still limited. Therefore, the goal of the thesis to evaluate the commencement of the family enterprises and how the owners' goals and values change with the advent of the new ownership structure. As a family business is a unique organization, uncovering the hidden motives of decisions, actions, and objectives helps study how family firms are born or made. Using qualitative research, the author finds several reasons behind the creation of family businesses, such as family legacy and financial gains. The study's results also show that the goals and values of the owners tend to shift towards long-term sustainability, the decision-making process alters, and the importance of family and the organization becomes interconnected.