This week’s episode of the videocast Negócios com Impacto, a partnership between CATÓLICA-LISBON and Rádio Renascença, brings a unique perspective on the Portuguese business landscape by focusing on one of its most relevant pillars: family businesses. The guest is Liliana Dinis, family business specialist and Executive Director of the CATÓLICA-LISBON Family Business Platform.
According to the researcher, family businesses can be defined as “businesses that have the intention of being passed on to the next generations.” Contrary to popular perception, not all small businesses, such as restaurants or pastry shops, are considered family businesses.
“Many of them do involve family members working together, but there is no intention for the children to continue running the butcher shop, bakery, or shoe store. That does not qualify as a family business, because there is no intent to pass it on to the next generation. But when a restaurant owner opens a second or third location, or creates a franchise, there is already a clear intention of continuity, and we can then speak of a true family business.”
It is estimated that such businesses represent around 70% of the Portuguese business fabric, largely composed of SMEs — a figure consistent with other European countries such as Ireland, Denmark, or Italy. Globally, Liliana Dinis points out, “it is estimated that family businesses account for over 60% of GDP and more than 50% of job creation.”
Throughout the episode, the researcher addresses the challenges these companies face in management — particularly succession between generations — while also highlighting their competitive advantages. Greater agility in decision-making, a strong reputation, and the ability to innovate through tradition are among the strengths she identifies.
In Portugal, the lack of concrete data on family businesses led CATÓLICA-LISBON to take on a pioneering role in this field: “It has played a very important role. It was the first business school to create an undergraduate course on family businesses, which has been growing and is always in high demand. Later it created a master’s level course, chosen mainly by international students, showing that this is not only a Portuguese reality,” the researcher highlights.
In recent years, this commitment has been reinforced with the creation of the Family Business Platform, a structure exclusively dedicated to the study of family businesses in Portugal. In parallel, events such as Family Business Day and the Founders Forum have been promoted, bridging academia and companies and translating research into practical knowledge.
“In these gatherings, we try to bring research into a simple language — without statistics, without embellishment. We want to share best practices and concrete examples, building bridges among family businesses so that everyone can improve,” she adds.
The 10th episode is now available to listen to and watch on CATÓLICA-LISBON’s Spotify and YouTube channels.