Strategia e gestione delle imprese familiari - ENG

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN FAMILY BUSINESSES

I Module Prof. Lucrezia Songini
II Module Prof. Giorgio Donna

Course Code: EC0011
Subject code: SECS P07
8 ECTS – 64 hours
Location: Novara

NB The course: Strategic cost planning has been substituted with this course.

Educational aims

The course is articulated into two modules:
I Module:– Prof.ssa Lucrezia Songini
II Module:– Prof. Giorgio Donna

I Module: Strategic Management in Family Businesses – Prof.ssa Lucrezia Songini
The module aims to present the characteristics of family firms with the purpose of developing the students' ability to identify and analyze the strengths, weaknesses and the typical operating requirements of such firms, and to propose appropriate responses to the specific managerial demands of these enterprises.
The course focuses on the strategy of family businesses, the way they are organized in terms of structure, processes, roles and responsibilities, on their operational mechanisms, such as planning and control, and corporate governance systems. In consideration of the importance of these aspects for the development and success of family businesses, particular attention will be devoted to family succession and company growth management.

II Module: The Economic Value of Business Strategies – Prof. Giorgio Donna
The module aims to present logical models and operative methodologies and tools which can be used to evaluate business strategies. The main objective of the module consists of helping students to understand, assess and measure relevant variables that contribute to developing the economic value of business strategies. In particular, the model of economic value is presented, which represents the most relevant methodology to evaluate the economic convenience of strategic choices.


Content of the course

The course is a half-year one and it’s divided into two modules.

Module 1 - Strategic Management in Family Businesses (Prof. Lucrezia Songini) - 4 CFU

Contents

1.    Family firms and non-family firms: typical characteristics, strengths and weaknesses
•    Role and importance of family firms: international and national data
•    Vision, mission and objectives of the family and of the firm
•    Types of family firms
•    The relationship between the family and the firm: overlapping roles
•    Relevant stakeholders of family firms, local roots and attitude towards corporate social responsibility

2.    Corporate structure and governance
•    Firm and family governance bodies
•    The involvement of external members in the firm’s governance
•    Role of the board of directors

3.    Trade-off between entrepreneurship and managerialization
•    The managerialization of family firms: key issues and determinants
•    Pro and cons of managerialization
•    Managerialization and business performance: some data
•    The role of planning and control mechanisms
•    External managers: when and how involve them in a family firm?
•    How to manage the relationships between external managers and family members
•    Professional development and careers in family businesses
•    The role of the CEO and of the CFO

4.    Continuity and development in family firms
•    Long-term vision of the family
•    Letting an external party acquire some of the firm’s equity
•    Succession issues

5.    Family business succession process
•    Family business succession: critical aspects
•    How to prepare the succession
•    How to choose the future leader
•    Some particular situations: no heirs, many heirs, when the successor is a woman


Module 2 - The Economic Value of Business Strategies (Prof. Giorgio Donna)- 4 CFU

Contents

1.    Measuring the economic performance of a firm
•    The traditional accounting measures (ROE, ROI, ecc.) and their shortcomings
•    The economic logic
•    The concept of economic value creation and its measure

2.    Economic value creation: the model
•    Short-term value creation and strategic value creation
•    Operating value creation and financial value creation

3.    Business strategy: the principles
•    The strategic business unit of a firm
•    The business model
•    Value proposition, competitive advantage, core competencies, strategic equity

4.    Value creation and business strategy
•    The economic value of a business strategy
•    The strategic value creation drivers: business quality, competitive strenghts and weaknesses, systematic and competitive risk
•    The economic value creation of a strategy: the algorithms

5.    Value creation and corporate strategy
•    The multibusiness company
•    Why diversification may create or destroy value
•    The economic value of synergies

6.    Value creation and financial strategy
•    Cost of capital: concept and measures
•    Financial leverage and value creation: when debt is too much and when is too low
•    Financial strategy and family business

7.    Economic value creation and social responsibility of a firm
•    A trade-off problem?
•    The concept of shared value creation




Prerequisites

None.

Course Texts

For attending and non-attending students, reference material (slides, case studies, articles) produced by the lecturers will be made available in the web page of the course at the URL:

https://eco.dir.unipmn.it/

A great number of reference materials are in English.
Lecturers will also decide upon the adoption, if necessary, of one or more textbooks, among those recommended.

Module 1: Recommended readings:
Miller D., Le Breton-Miller I., Mantenere il successo. Lezioni di vantaggio competitivo dalle grandi imprese familiari, Etas, 2005 (ed. or. "Managing for the Lon Run. Lessons in Competitive Advantage from Great Family Businesses", Harvard Business School Press, 2005).
Poutziouris P. Z., Smyrnios K. X., Klein S. B, Handbook of Research on Family Business, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2006.
Gnan L., Montemerlo D., Le PMI familiari in Italia tra tradizione e novità. I risultati di una ricerca, EGEA, Milano, 2008.
Montemerlo D., Continuità generazionale e accordi familiari. Principi e regole per l'impresa, la proprietà e la famiglia, EGEA, 2009.
Corbetta G., Le aziende familiari. Strategie per il lungo periodo,  EGEA, Milano, 2010.
Corbetta G., Salvato C., Strategies for Longevity in Family Firms. A European Perspective, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Poutziouris P., Smyrnios K., Goel S. (edited by), Elgar Family Business Research Handbook, Volume 2., Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013.


Module 2: Recommended readings
Donna G., La creazione di valore nella gestione dell’impresa, Carrocci, 2007
DonnaG., L’impresa multibusiness, EGEA, 2003.

Further informations can be found in the web page of the course at the URL:
https://eco.dir.unipmn.it/

Teaching methods

Different teaching tools will be used:
a)    traditional lessons in class where the lecturers will present problems, solutions and tools for strategic and family business management;
b)    case studies, where the theories are presented in real business situations;
c)    guest speakers having an experience relevant in the field as managers or professionals.

The course is highly interactive and may involve carrying out simulations, hosting guest speakers, real case studies discussions, group assignments.

Students can participate in a team work project, aimed at testing and developing principles, methods and tools presented during lessons in the analysis of a real case study concerning a listed family firm.
Both teachers will evaluate the team work project, assigning it a specific extra score.

Class attendance

Class attendance is recommended but is not mandatory.

Examination

Final written exam both for attending and non-attending students.
The team work project’s score will be added to the finale written exam’s score.