On 11 October 2024, Audencia’s Family Entrepreneurship & Society Chair signed a new sponsorship agreement with LNA Santé. This partnership will accelerate research into intangible heritage in family businesses and strengthen the Chair’s ability to act over time.
A world-renowned research centre
Audencia’s Family Entrepreneurship & Society Chair has been working for over 10 years to develop theoretical and empirical knowledge about family businesses, focusing on their transfer, durability, growth and the training of the younger generations who will take over as managers. The Chair’s research work, published in international journals, makes it a recognised centre of expertise in this field. The family business model has many specific features that are proving to be major assets in a world undergoing profound change. The concern for the long term, the intersection of tradition and modernity, the family history and the history of the company… These are just some of the characteristics that create the essence of this model, which concerns 83% of companies in France. Based in one of the country’s leading management schools and anchored in a highly dynamic economic area, the Family Entrepreneurship & Society Chair sheds light on a model that concerns both very small businesses and multinationals.
Legacy at the heart of the partnership with LNA Santé
The concept of “legacy” goes beyond simple inheritance: it refers to “that persistent, intangible trace of the past which exerts positive and negative effects in the present”. In the context of family businesses, it is a concept that is both complex and fascinating, and was the subject of a workshop for the prestigious academic journal Academy of Management Perspectives held on the Audencia campus in Paris. The new partnership with LNA Santé will enable the Chair to carry out an in-depth study of this subject within the company. How does the intangible heritage of the family business, its past and its memory influence different aspects of society and organisations? How can this heritage be passed on while retaining its original essence? How do subsequent generations take this heritage into account and live with it? The aim of this academic and field work is to provide new perspectives on the role of intangible heritage in various contexts, to disseminate good practice within family businesses and to encourage collaborative discussions between academic researchers in the field.
A long-term partnership
The new four-year partnership was signed on 11 October 2024 at LNA Santé’s head office in Vertou.
“LNA Santé is a natural partner for Audencia’s Family Entrepreneurship & Society research chair, whose theme is in line with the company’s DNA. We are a family-run company with strong local roots, offering a comprehensive range of services to care for vulnerable people. The family spirit of LNA Santé is a key part of our DNA and we share it with all our employees. Over the next 4 years, the partnership will enable us to exchange ideas with both teachers and students, to help roll out this business transfer scheme, which is not always easy. We were particularly impressed by the recognised expertise of the researchers who hold the chair and the numerous impact studies that have been carried out over the last 10 years”.
Willy SIRET, Managing Director.
LNA Santé joins the other sponsors of the Chair: the law firm Cornet Vincent Ségurel, CIC Ouest and Crédit Mutuel Equity, as well as Groupe Mousset, which support the Chair through the Audencia Foundation.
