About IFEB

Vision

The Institute’s vision is to be a valuable resource center and the leader in the family business activities in Lebanon and the Middle East.

Mission

The mission of the institute is to coordinate and manage research in Family Owned Businesses, while at the same time enhancing LAU’s curricula both in Business and other related social sciences. The Institute will provide high quality development programs that should assist family businesses prepare for the future. The Institute will be a strategic asset for family businesses in Lebanon and the Middle East. It will facilitate communication amongst faculty, management specialists, company executives, students and the business community at large and will allow them to exchange plans and successful ideas in an intellectually stimulating environment.

Objectives

The objectives of the institute are as follows:

1. To be the leader in developmental activities in the Family Business field. The Institute will offer quality seminars and conferences, organize workshops, have a comprehensive publications program covering the latest topics in the field.
2. To reach people from outside the university: Owners/Managers, executives and employees in family owned businesses as well as the business heirs who are not directly involved in the inherited businesses.
3. To create a Data Bank on family businesses, which will track the performance of companies and allow conducting comparative analysis on various aspects of the life of a family business. This would be a very valuable resource center and will allow the Institute to be a leader primarily in Lebanon and later as it develops, in the Middle East.

In addition, the school of business is reaching the students by offering a program in the field. Students majoring in Business Management with an emphasis on “Family and Entrepreneurial Business” should take the core business requirements with the following:

1. Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management
2. Family Business Management
3. Small Business Start-up Laboratory
4. Venture Growth strategies for Entrepreneurs

These undergraduate courses cover topics in family businesses in general with an emphasis on management issues, entrepreneurship, franchising, governance, leadership, strategy, and issues of a strategic nature such as behavioral aspects, succession problems, corporate governance, financing options, and expansion strategies.

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the Institute is to enhance the continuity, health and growth of Family Enterprises by:

1. Developing and maintaining a center of research and innovation in a field that hasn’t received its due attention;
2. Being a leader in developmental activities in the Family Business field in Lebanon and the Middle East through generating and disseminating information and data on leading and managing Family Owned Businesses;
3. Serving Family Businesses by offering high powered courses in the field;
4. Allowing Family members to interact freely and openly in an intellectually stimulating environment, while at the same time encouraging the education and development of individuals involved in the management and ownership of Family Owned Businesses;
5. Improving knowledge of Family Businesses, facilitating links among professionals serving family Businesses and assisting Family members solve their problems and maximize the potential of their businesses.