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What’s Love Got to Do with It? Marriage and Divorce in Family Business

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Understanding Family Businesses

Part of the book series: International Studies in Entrepreneurship ((ISEN,volume 15))

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Abstract

Marriage, divorce, and couple relationships are some of the most important issues in family business. Although these topics have been touched on in family business research, there has been little attention given to specific theories. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to generate ideas for how theories of marriage, divorce, and couple relationships may inform future family business research. These ideas are taken from the findings of the authors’ research on family business couples as well as from theories from leading experts on marriage, divorce, and relationships. A two-part case study will be used for illustration of the presented ideas. Case Study, Part One involves a couple who is deciding whether or not to go into business together. Case Study, Part Two fast forwards this couple 20 years later as they contemplate divorce. A review of the literature on family business couples will set the context for the cases, presenting theories and future research ideas.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale 3301 College Avenue, FL, 33314, Fort Lauderdale, USA

    Patricia M. Cole

  2. School of Public Service Leadership, Capella University, 225 South 6th Street, 9th Floor, Minneapolis, MN, 55402, USA

    Kit Johnson

Authors
  1. Patricia M. Cole
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  2. Kit Johnson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patricia M. Cole .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. TED ROGERS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, TORONTO, M5B 2K3, Ontario, Canada

    ALAN CARSRUD

  2. Dept. Business Administration, Swedish University Abo, Henriksgatan 7, Turku, 20500, Finland

    Malin Brännback

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Cole, P.M., Johnson, K. (2012). What’s Love Got to Do with It? Marriage and Divorce in Family Business. In: CARSRUD, A., Brännback, M. (eds) Understanding Family Businesses. International Studies in Entrepreneurship, vol 15. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0911-3_6

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