Management

As Columbia Business School deepens its institutional commitment to AI through its AI in Business Initiative and the upcoming "MBA Transformed: AI and Beyond" teaching symposium on June 1, 2026, family enterprises face a parallel question: is AI a threat to legacy, or a new way to coauthor it? A recent study in the Journal of Product Innovation Management, "AI Adoption in Family Firms: A Mixed-Methods Study on the Paradoxical Roles of Passive and Active Family Involvement," suggests AI adoption is as much a relationship and governance challenge as a technological one. Drawing on 125 interviews and survey data from 1,444 German firms, the authors find that passive family ownership may slow adoption, while active family management can accelerate it, particularly when paired with strong external ties to suppliers, customers, and even competitors. For enterprising families, the deeper insight is that legacy is not static; it is interpreted and renewed across generations. AI may become a voice of the next generation, offering younger family members a concrete way to contribute to continuity, if families are willing to turn legacy into a living conversation. Read the full article, Is AI a Threat to Legacy, or a New Way to Coauthor It?

A hidden dimension of bias is our deep-seated assumptions about whether someone is a visionary or a detail-oriented doer.

A global survey of 525 family firm decision-makers across 21 countries finds that founder identity, whether Missionary or Darwinian, shapes philanthropic behavior across generations. Missionary founders, driven by social purpose, produce giving that grows stronger over time as their legacy is idealized and absorbed into family identity. Darwinian founders, motivated by competitive logic, engage in more reputational giving that can shift with other priorities. Transgenerational control intentions further complicate the picture: families focused on succession may quietly redirect philanthropic energy inward. For advisors, the implication is clear: identity, not just structure, determines whether family giving becomes a lasting legacy or a secondary priority. Read the full article, What Our Giving Says About Us, and explore the Richards & Kammerlander study in Family Business Review.

A large-scale global study of 3,322 publicly listed firms across 32 OECD countries finds that family involvement is, on average, associated with lower market valuation, particularly when renewal investment is weak or governance rigor is unclear. While family ownership is discounted less in strong institutional environments, the valuation penalty tied to family CEOs persists across contexts. Crucially, underinvestment in R&D partially explains this performance gap, suggesting that visible, disciplined innovation is a key credibility signal to markets.For family enterprises, the message is not anti-control. It is structural: legacy, governance, and geography determine whether family influence fuels long-term value or quietly contributes to “innovation reluctance.”

This piece closes the loop on a year of Family Enterprise Insights by naming the common thread beneath our 2025 research: trust as infrastructure.

New Columbia Business School research finds people’s worldviews determine whether they see aggressive leaders as competent—or clueless

On Thursday, April 24, 2025, the Columbia Business School Distinguished Speaker Series hosted Jane Fraser, CEO of Citi. As the first woman to lead a major U.S. bank, Jane Fraser is transforming Citi into a modern, streamlined institution for the digital age.

Research from Columbia Business School examines the challenges posed by generative AI in hiring and entrepreneurial pitching, offering insights into when AI helps — and when it hinders.