Family businesses account for the overwhelming majority of the world's companies, underscoring why this sector - not always well understood or reported upon - requires more attention. The HBR publishing group is issuing a new guide in the New Year.

The Harvard Business Review has brought out a handbook exploring how to build and maintain a family enterprise, exploring how families sustain long-term businesses, handle succession and internal conflicts and the involvement of non-family members. Family businesses account for an estimated 85 per cent of the world's companies. (And of course a natural progression for successful firms is to develop a family office.)

Entitled The Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook: How To Build and Sustain a Successful, Enduring Enterprise, the book will be published in January. The authors are Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer, co-founders and partners at BanyanGlobal, a Boston-based firm.

Running to 296 pages, the book looks to be a useful addition to family wealth advisors’ bookshelves as well as for their clients. Family Wealth Report will review the work and publish its thoughts early next year.