Institutionalization in family businesses and family constitution: Bursa example

Family companies, which make up the majority of companies operating in the world and in Turkey, have an important place in the economy. Family businesses are born on the initiative of the founder; grows and develops with hard work, effort and perseverance. These thriving family businesses can survive for generations and sometimes operate internationally. However, there are also many family businesses that cannot survive and do not last long. The main reason for the short life of these companies is that the necessary importance is not given to the issue of institutionalization or they are insufficient. Family businesses that cannot be institutionalized and managed professionally are doomed to extinction. The most important step to be taken in the name of institutionalization is the preparation of the family constitution. With the family constitution, the functioning is shaped within the framework of certain rules and possible problems between family members are prevented. It has been determined by the researches that many commercial companies in our country have been established as family companies. In our country, most of the literature studies on family firms are made on the basis of firm and organization departments. However, the nature of the problems experienced in family companies and producing solutions for these problems require working with different branches of science. The aim of this study is to examine the concepts of family business, institutionalization and family constitution in detail, and to reveal the thoughts of family companies in Bursa on family constitution and the reasons for not implementing a family constitution.