Featured topics

Call for cases – Special Issue of the
International Journal of Case Studies in Management (IJCSM) 

“Pivotal Moments and Sensitive Dynamics in Family Businesses”

Special issue co-edited by:
Sami Basly, professor at the University of Metz
Vincent Calvez, professor at the ESSCA School of Management and director of
the Institute for Family Businesses

Family businesses are significant contributors to the global economy and a prominent focus in management research. They comprise a significant share of organizations worldwide and contribute substantially to value creation, economic stability, and the structure of local and international markets. According to a recent KPMG (2025) report, family businesses generate nearly 70% of the global GDP, demonstrating their ability to balance long-term vision, local ties, and multigenerational succession. In Europe, their importance is evident. Seventy-four percent of private companies are family-controlled and contribute roughly 50% of the European Union’s GDP. They employ 40–50% of the private sector workforce (European Parliament, 2015). These figures confirm the central role of family businesses in contemporary socioeconomic dynamics.

This highlights the need to examine pivotal moments that influence governance, decision-making, and sustainability in more depth. Such moments, which reveal underlying tensions, provide opportunities to study family structures, institutional arrangements, and internal regulatory mechanisms (Calvez, 2025).

The International Journal of Case Studies in Management (IJCSM) (ISSN 1911-2599) is issuing a call for cases for a special issue dedicated to family businesses. The objective is to gather contributions that document, analyze, and interpret critical configurations in which family dynamics, identity issues, power dynamics, economic pressures, legitimacy norms, and intergenerational expectations intertwine – sometimes in conflict. This issue also aims to provide educators with teaching materials grounded in real-life situations that accurately reflect the dilemmas faced by managers, family shareholders, and internal stakeholders.

Topics will include governance-related tensions (Steier, Chrisman, and Chua, 2015), power struggles (Kellermanns and Eddleston, 2007), management of overt or latent conflicts (Eddleston and Kellermanns, 2007), capital allocation and family wealth management dilemmas (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2007), and succession and transfer processes. Further, salient phenomena, such as successor imposter syndrome, treatment inequalities (Campopiano, De Massis, and Rinaldi, 2017), sexism and mechanisms of implicit discrimination (Vera and Dean, 2005; Duran-Encalada, Werner, and Paucar-Cáceres, 2021) will be addressed. These factors can disrupt or destabilize existing governance structures, potentially leading to restructuring, sale, or even bankruptcy.

This special issue aligns with the IJCSM’s mission to publish rigorous teaching cases, based on empirical situations, accompanied by detailed teaching notes. Proposals should highlight the following:

• The organizational mechanisms underlying situations of disruption
• The family dynamics that influence decision-making, whether explicit or implicit
• The methods used to manage and resolve tensions, as well as their contribution to business continuity

The journal invites contributions on themes that enrich our understanding of vulnerabilities in family businesses, such as:

• Managing intra-family conflicts
• Difficult or contested power transitions
• The selection of an unsuitable or illegitimate successor
• Governance crises and institutional destabilization
• The disappearance of a family’s emotional bond and the weakening of the sense of belonging
• Breaks, betrayals, or rifts among siblings or family branches

These deeply human organizational themes require precise language, which may include the protagonists’ words when appropriate. Using authentic, even raw, language adds realism to the classroom. Such emotion aids in transmitting concepts. Therefore, we will place particular emphasis on the quality of the storytelling.

Submission details and instructions

This call for papers seeks original, well-documented case studies accompanied by comprehensive teaching notes. All authors should first review the IJCSM’s writing guidelines, which are available at the following address:
https://www.hec.ca/en/case_centre/writing-guidelines/index.html 

To submit, prepare a detailed summary (750–1,000 words) of your case study in Word format. Submit the summary by September 15, 2026, via the Editorial Manager platform linked on our “Instructions for Authors” page. When selecting an article type, authors must choose “Special issue-Family business_Summary/No spécial-Entreprises fam_Résumé” from the drop-down menu.

The summary must include:

• The title of the case
• Keywords
• An overview of the case, accompanied by an outline
• Key takeaways

Authors will receive feedback on their summary by October 1, 2026. If accepted, submit the complete case study with teaching notes via the Editorial Manager platform by January 15, 2027.

Timeline:

• Summary submission deadline: September 15, 2026
• Notification to authors regarding submissions: October 1, 2026
• Deadline for submitting case studies and teaching notes: January 15, 2027
• First evaluation: February 28, 2027
• Issue release: September 2027

Review committee:

Bruno Bouchard (UQAR)

Grace Moussaid (Brest Business School)

Patrice Charlier (University of Strasbourg)

Soufyane Frimousse (University of Corte)

Mariem Hannachi (ESSCA School of Management)

Allain Joly (HEC Montréal)

Thierry Obrist (University of Neuchâtel)

Mohamed Ouiakoub (University of Lorraine)

Julien Le Maux (HEC Montréal)

The following are examples of IJCSM cases that focus on the topic:

• Molson’s Quest for Principles and Good Governance
• Groupe Park Avenue: Growth and Transitions
• Freixenet : Les bulles centenaires à la conquête de la Chine
• Ève-Lyne Biron et Biron Groupe Santé
• Groupe AEG inc. : les aléas du modèle d’affaires d’une petite entreprise d’escompte et d’affacturage
• Walter inc. : Faire face aux géants
• L’approche Timpson par « l'absence » de contrôle
• Guylaine Saucier : entrepreneur et administrateur de sociétés
• Johanne Dion et TRANS-HERBe ou la passion des tisanes
• CUI-ZINE: A Company under Pressure

References:

Calvez, V. (2025). “Mellerio dits Meller, la plus ancienne joaillerie familiale du monde : Comprendre les défis, enjeux et éléments clés de sa pérennité”, Question(s) de management, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 91–106.

Campopiano, G., De Massis, A., and Rinaldi, F. R. (2017). “Women’s involvement in family firms: progress and challenges”, Journal of Family Business Strategy, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 200–212.

Duran-Encalada, J. A., Werner, K., and Paucar-Cáceres, A. (2021). “Factors affecting women’s intention to lead family businesses in Mexico”, Social Sciences, Vol. 10, No. 7, Article 251, https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10070251.

Eddleston, K. A. and Kellermanns, F. W. (2007). “Destructive and productive family relationships: A stewardship theory perspective”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 545–565.

European Parliament (2015). “Resolution of September 8, 2015, on Family Businesses in Europe (2014/2210(INI)).”

Gómez-Mejía, L. R., Haynes, K. T., Núñez-Nickel, M., Jacobson, K. J. L., & Moyano-Fuentes, J. (2007). “Socioemotional wealth and business risks in family-controlled firms: Evidence from Spanish olive oil mills”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 106–137.

Kellermanns, F. W. and Eddleston, K. A. (2007). “A family perspective on when conflict benefits family firm performance”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 60, No. 10, pp. 1048–1057.

KPMG (2025). Global Family Business Report 2025.

Steier, L. P., Chrisman, J. J., and Chua, J. H. (2015). “Governance challenges in family businesses and business families”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 1265–1280. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12180.

Vera, C. F. and Dean, M. A. (2005). “An examination of the challenges daughters face in family business succession”, Family Business Review, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp 321–345. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.2005.00051.x