Impact of National Culture on Governance and Management of Family Businesses: Australia Versus India

A family is the primary social unit in which individuals are born and get acclimatised to societal culture. Most researches on family businesses are derived from frameworks developed in the United States or other Western societies. The premise of this article is that the way family businesses across the world are managed will vary drastically based on the culture of the society where these businesses operate. Using Australia and India as country examples, we apply Hofstede’s six dimensions of culture to formulate illustrative propositions highlighting the impact of culture on family business governance and management. These propositions are of particular significance to human resource management across areas of both governance and management, and concern, in particular, intergenerational matters associated with succession, management style, employment and developing next-generation leaders.