Family firms have become a topic of the utmost interest for academic both researchers and policy makers. Researchers have started to investigate the distinctiveness of family firms, their functioning and efficiency outcomes. Policy makers have been reacting to the problems of economic development arising from the domination of family-owned and family-controlled firms in many economies. This book provides an analytical study of control, ownership and succession in family firms. It includes nine chapters written by scholars from different countries, namely the United States of America, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Poland and Nigeria. To better grasp the relationship between economic growth, business behavior, and policy, we need a handle on the complexity of family firms. This book is the consultants therefore be welcomed. Its rigorous and strongly empirical essays valuable knowledge add to our understanding of the bridge distinctive aspects of family firms: their efficiency, funding and control. It admirably achieves this by integrating both research from economics and management. Prof. Wim Naude WIDER, United Nations University, Helsinki - Finland