Image via WikipediaFreakonomics » Freakonomics Radio, Hour-long Episode 1: “The Church of Scionology”About one-third of the companies in the Fortune 500 are family-controlled firms. Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t that fantastic?
The episode is built on a foundation of academic research by economists including Antoinette Schoar, Vikas Mehrotra, and Francisco Perez-Gonzalez. Among the papers they discuss are, respectively: “The Role of Family in Family Firms”; “Adoptive Expectations: Rising Sons in Japanese Family Firms”; and “Inherited Control and Firm Performance.” Bottom line? Handing the business off to a scion is generally a poor move — although there are caveats, bizarre exceptions, and surprising reasons. And you’ll hear from Matt McGue, a behavioral geneticist at the University of Minnesota, discussing whether there’s a “CEO gene.”
Click here for a full transcript of “The Church of Scionology.”
The Freakonomics Story
The Freakonomics Story
It began when New York journalist and author Stephen J. Dubner went to Chicago to write about award-winning economist Steven D. Levitt for The New York Times Magazine. Dubner had been reluctant to take the assignment (he was in the middle of writing a book about the psychology of money). Levitt was reluctant to be shadowed by a journalist (but his mother loved the Times Magazine, so he gave in). The article came out, and led to an unexpected partnership. Levitt and Dubner wrote Freakonomics, a book about cheating teachers, bizarre baby names, self-dealing Realtors, and crack-selling mama’s boys. They figured it would sell about 80 copies. Instead, it took up long-term residency on the Times best-seller list, and went on to sell more than 4 million copies in 35 languages. Then they wrote SuperFreakonomics. It also became a worldwide best-seller. A lot of other stuff happened, too. A blog. A documentary film. Jon Stewart and Beauty and the Geek! Lectures. A pair of pants. A radio show. Not bad for a partnership born of such profound reluctance.
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