Dubai office
The Family Business Histories Project has launched the Spotlights Series – a collection of 60 case studies, each documenting the history of a regional family business. A collaborative research project between New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and Tharawat Family Business Forum, the Family Business Histories is a research initiative that examines the historical impact of family businesses on the economy and society in the MENASA region.
As a first-of-its-kind endeavor in the MENASA region, this series is an ever-growing collection of brief case studies, or profiles, which aim to shine a light on the unwritten stories of regional family businesses. The profiles are available through this web portal, where the histories of family businesses from various countries, company sizes, and industries are explored. Each profile provides insights into the founders’ background, the business founding story, and key business milestones of the business operations over time.
The continuously expanding collection of profiles offers various entry points for researchers and practitioners, and contributes to the documentation of the rich and complex history of regional family businesses. It features the profiles of families such as Al Fahim, Al Gurg, and Al Ghurair.
General Manager of the Tharawat Family Business Forum Farida El Agamy said: “The publication of the Family Business Histories Spotlight Series marks a milestone in family business research in the region as it will be the largest collection of historical family business profiles from the MENASA. The series allows us to take a unique insight into the emergence of family businesses and gives us an opportunity to learn from the external and internal challenges faced in the past – and to draw lessons for the future.”
NYUAD Research Associate Israa Mahgoub said: “From a scholarly perspective, our Spotlight Series seeks to address the challenges posed by limited and dispersed documentation and archival records of regional family businesses. We hope that this collection of case studies will inspire further research and contribute to a deeper understanding of the significant role family businesses have played in shaping the region’s past, present, and future.”