HomeResearch & Knowledgeback to HomeFamily Businessback to Research & KnowledgeCarvajal: Building a holistic family enterpriseback to Family Business

Case Study

Carvajal: Building a holistic family enterprise

By Peter Vogel and Anouk Lavoie Orlick

7 pages

May 2024

Order this case study

Reference: IMD-7-2438

The Carvajal case is based on interviews with four family members and executives of Carvajal S.A., one of Latin America’s leading family businesses. The case focuses on how, over the span of 120 years, the Carvajal family built a holistic family enterprise to govern both its business and its family ownership structure. The system includes the typical governance attributes of a large family enterprise – including a family council, shareholders’ assembly and family constitution – and in addition, it puts special emphasis on entrepreneurship and social and economic welfare. Yet, with the family expanding in size and scattering geographically, the Carvajal family must continue to innovate and adapt their family enterprise model. The case explores the particular challenges related to family governance, ownership and CEO succession. It details how Carvajal established NextGen programs and fostered entrepreneurship as a “glue” to bind the family together. It also shows how Carvajal achieved collective impact by aligning the purpose of the business with the purpose of the family foundation, the family council and the wider family enterprise. From a broader perspective, the case illustrates how to manage family governance issues in a multi-generational family enterprise by understanding and applying the mechanisms that are available, and by maintaining a healthy balance between family leadership and independent governance.

Learning Objective

To explore how to solve complex family governance issues in multi-generational family businesses and master the structural tools that are available to help maintain coherence and unity.
To find a “glue” that will bind family members together and keep them interested in the family enterprise.
To discern how to achieve a healthy balance between family leadership and independent governance.
To observe how a purpose-led family enterprise focused on social and economic development can be built.
To analyze how mature family enterprises continue to grow and evolve.

Keywords

Family Business, Governance, Ownership, Family Office, Family Council, Family Constitution, Succession, Chief Executive Officer Selection, Board, Development, Education, Philanthropy, Entrepreneurship, Next Generation, Conflict Resolution, Decision Making, Environmental Social and Governance, Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, Responsible Production

Settings

South America, Colombia
Carvajal, Manufacturing, Paper and Pulp Products, Packaging and Containers, Consumer Goods, Furniture, Information Technology
120 years

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

Related material

Teaching note, Video

IMD case studies are distributed through case clearing houses. In order to browse the collection and purchase copies please visit the links below.

The Case Centre

Cranfield University

Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]

Harvard Business School Publishing

60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]

Asia Pacific Case Center

NUCB Business School

1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]

IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Keep reading

Case Study

Jubilee Enterprises of Thailand: Growing through insights

Unyarat Pornprakit (Unya) is the youthful chief executive officer of Jubilee Enterprise PLC, a diamond jewelry retailer. Since Unya became CEO in 2...

General Management Entrepreneurship Family Business

By Philip Charles Zerrillo and Goutam Challagalla

Article

The legacies of entrepreneurial families

Family businesses are integral to the entrepreneurial ecosystems in which they operate. In order to explore how the legacy of individual entreprene...

Family Business Entrepreneurship

By Alfredo De Massis, Peter Trümmel, Vittoria Magrelli, Paola Rovelli and Christof Rissbacher

in Südtiroler Wirtschaftszeitung

7 June 2024

Article

Mastering talent management in family offices: Some insights from research and practice

Just as important as the dynamics between family members are the people who support them. Peter Vogel and Alfredo De Massis provide an overview of ...

Family Business Talent Management

By Peter Vogel and Alfredo De Massis

in The International Family Offices Journal

June 2024, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 52-56

Article

Executive gender and firm leverage decisions: The role of firm ownership and governance

Female leadership in strategic decision-making has received considerable attention in the context of global gender inequality. To advance our under...

Family Business Board Diversity and Equity and Inclusion

By Alfredo De Massis, Fernando Muñoz-Bullón, Maria J. Sanchez-Bueno, Pilar Velasco and Silvio Vismara

in Journal of Business Research

June 2024, vol. 179, 114700, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114700

Article

Acquisition relatedness in family firms: Do the environment and the institutional context matter?

Research on the acquisition behaviour of family firms has produced conflicting theoretical arguments and mixed empirical findings on their propensi...

Family Business Mergers and Acquisitions

By Michele Pinelli, Francesco Chirico, Alfredo De Massis and Alessandro Zattoni

in Journal of Management Studies

June 2024, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 1562-1589, https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12932

Case Study

Carvajal: Building a holistic family enterprise

The Carvajal case is based on interviews with four family members and executives of Carvajal S.A., one of Latin America’s leading family businesses...

Family Business

By Peter Vogel and Anouk Lavoie Orlick

Article

Untangling the yarn: A contextualization of human resource management to the family firm setting

Despite the efforts to contextualize human resource management to family firms, scientific literature addressing this study domain suffers from lim...

Family Business Human Resources

By Elena Casprini, Rocco Palumbo and Alfredo De Massis

in Journal of Family Business Strategy

17 May 2024, ePub before print, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2024.100621

Article

Linking biases and paradoxes in the family entrepreneurship context: An integrative framework for future research

Biases and paradoxes are inherently context-dependent phenomena, as they are influenced by various contextual factors that can either magnify or di...

Family Business

By Minas N. Kastanakis, Katerina Kampouri, Christian Linder, Michael Christofi and Alfredo De Massis

in Small Business Economics

13 May 2024, ePub before print, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-024-00931-1

Article

The evolution of craft work in the strategic development of a family enterprise

Craft firms characterized by a humanistic approach to work face a tension between adhering to pure craft principles and embracing industrialization...

Family Business Entrepreneurship

By Emanuela Rondi, Vittoria Magrelli, Francesco Debellis and Alfredo De Massis

in Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal

9 May 2024, ePub before print, https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1503

Jubilee Enterprises of Thailand: Growing through insights

By Philip Charles Zerrillo and Goutam Challagalla
Case reference: IMD-7-2527 ©2024

Summary

Unyarat Pornprakit (Unya) is the youthful chief executive officer of Jubilee Enterprise PLC, a diamond jewelry retailer. Since Unya became CEO in 2...

Reference IMD-7-2527

Organization Jubilee Enterprises

Industry Consumer Goods, Luxury Goods and Jewelry

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

General Management

Entrepreneurship

Family Business

Browse all topics

The legacies of entrepreneurial families

By Alfredo De Massis Peter Trümmel Vittoria Magrelli Paola Rovelli and Christof Rissbacher
in Südtiroler Wirtschaftszeitung 7 June 2024

Summary

Family businesses are integral to the entrepreneurial ecosystems in which they operate. In order to explore how the legacy of individual entreprene...

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Family Business

Entrepreneurship

Browse all topics

Mastering talent management in family offices: Some insights from research and practice

By Peter Vogel and Alfredo De Massis
in The International Family Offices Journal June 2024, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 52-56

Summary

Just as important as the dynamics between family members are the people who support them. Peter Vogel and Alfredo De Massis provide an overview of ...

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Family Business

Talent Management

Browse all topics

Executive gender and firm leverage decisions: The role of firm ownership and governance

By Alfredo De Massis Fernando Muñoz-Bullón Maria J. Sanchez-Bueno Pilar Velasco and Silvio Vismara
in Journal of Business Research June 2024, vol. 179, 114700, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114700

Summary

Female leadership in strategic decision-making has received considerable attention in the context of global gender inequality. To advance our under...

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Family Business

Board

Diversity and Equity and Inclusion

Browse all topics

Acquisition relatedness in family firms: Do the environment and the institutional context matter?

By Michele Pinelli Francesco Chirico Alfredo De Massis and Alessandro Zattoni
in Journal of Management Studies June 2024, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 1562-1589, https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12932

Summary

Research on the acquisition behaviour of family firms has produced conflicting theoretical arguments and mixed empirical findings on their propensi...

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Family Business

Mergers and Acquisitions

Browse all topics

Carvajal: Building a holistic family enterprise

By Peter Vogel and Anouk Lavoie Orlick
Case reference: IMD-7-2438 ©2024

Summary

The Carvajal case is based on interviews with four family members and executives of Carvajal S.A., one of Latin America’s leading family businesses...

Reference IMD-7-2438

Organization Carvajal

Industry Manufacturing, Paper and Pulp Products;Manufacturing, Packaging and Containers;Consumer Goods, Furniture;Information Technology

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Family Business

Browse all topics

Untangling the yarn: A contextualization of human resource management to the family firm setting

By Elena Casprini Rocco Palumbo and Alfredo De Massis
in Journal of Family Business Strategy 17 May 2024, ePub before print, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2024.100621

Summary

Despite the efforts to contextualize human resource management to family firms, scientific literature addressing this study domain suffers from lim...

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Family Business

Human Resources

Browse all topics

The evolution of craft work in the strategic development of a family enterprise

By Emanuela Rondi Vittoria Magrelli Francesco Debellis and Alfredo De Massis
in Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal 9 May 2024, ePub before print, https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1503

Summary

Craft firms characterized by a humanistic approach to work face a tension between adhering to pure craft principles and embracing industrialization...

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Family Business

Entrepreneurship

Browse all topics