| Abstract: | Abstract The article addresses central questions in the research of family business, corporate governance and the transformation of Swedish industry. The analysis is drawn from the example of the Wallenberg family in Sweden, an industrial dynasty of five generations. Ideas of ownership and overriding values are discussed in relation to pressures of change in international industries. In detail, the article deals with 1) the concepts of corporate governance, long-term active ownership and networking capacity and the chronology of successful family capitalism, 2) the pressures for change experienced in early post-World War II Swedish industry in general and in the three multinational companies in particular, 3) how the owners and top management of the three companies responded strategically to these pressures and 4) the extent to which the provision of capital was accompanied by industrial competence or if simple patience on the part of capital was sufficient. |
