Creating Research
Bringing the leading edge of research to family enterprise.
Family enterprise drives 64% of the US economy, yet there isn’t a trusted resource for research-formed insights in this area. The Koch Center fills that role, bringing new knowledge to leaders of family organizations to support enhanced professionalism, nuanced sophistication of long-term perspective, and wisdom in how these leaders balance family and business purposes. In addition to the center directors, distinguished faculty fellows and faculty affiliates contributing to family enterprise scholarship, the center supports students as Family Enterprise Scholars. At the Koch Center, our footprint within one of the world’s preeminent research business universities allows us to speak to family enterprise issues from a robust research foundation. This research foundation is crucial to maintaining the objectivity required to add value to this landscape. At the same time, we understand the importance of translating these insights into actionable frameworks for practitioners in the field. While the research produced alongside the Koch Center is limited only to our partners' imagination, the center has three key initiatives. These areas of focus guide Drs. Barton Hamilton and Peter Boumgarden in identifying data sources for engaging with our scholars in their work.
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Olin Brookings Commission
In WashU’s third commission with the Brookings Institution, the research focused on the landscape of mid-market companies facing significant strategic transition points. Taken as a whole, this work aimed to understand the forthcoming tidal wave of transition and recommend a set of policy incentives to build a healthier kind of transition in years to come.
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Publications
Selected Academic Publications – Business
- Right Stuff? Personality and Entrepreneurship, with Nicholas Papageorge and Nidhi Pande. Quantitative Economics, 10 (2019) 643-691.
- There a Bright Side to Nepotism? Family CEOs, Turnover, and Firm Performance, with Andres Hincapie, and Noah Lyman. (2022).
- Who are Angel Investors?, with Yoosef Ghahreman. (2015).
- The Effect of Succession Taxes on Family Firm Investment: Evidence from a Natural Experiment - TSOUTSOURA - 2015 - The Journal of Finance - Wiley Online Library
- Family Control and the Cost of Debt: Evidence from the Great Recession by Spyridon Lagaras, Margarita Tsoutsoura:: SSRN
- Family firms and management practices | Oxford Review of Economic Policy | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
- Strategies for Direct Investment for Family Office – Peter Boumgarden, PhD
- Union Square Hospitality Group: Hospitality Included - Case - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School (hbs.edu)
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Media Mentions
- As Centene Corp. lays off 2,000 employees, Molina Health Care, which took some of its business, to hire 550 in California - St. Louis Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
- A Festus rolled ice cream shop, Tanglefoot Creamery, is run by an 18-year-old with big plans (stltoday.com)
- Charter is offering 100% tuition for workers. It's not the only one paying for school. (stltoday.com)
- The Class of 2023 Faces a Jittery Job Market: ‘The World Seems to Have Flipped on Its Head.’ - WSJ
- ‘Succession’: Would Logan Roy’s Death Really Tank Waystar’s Stock? - WSJ
- Retailers Continue To Adjust To Survive During A Pandemic | STLPR
Koch Center Research Initiatives
Research driving the Family Enterprise space at WashU Olin
