A Century Apart: Family Firms of 2025 & Their 1925 Counterparts

Family businesses have always been the quiet constants in economies defined by upheaval. Whether a corner shop, a farm, or a sprawling industrial dynasty, these enterprises often outlive the social and political storms that reshape the world around them. Looking back from 2025 to 1925, two years separated by a century of transformation, reveals not just how family firms have changed, but how history itself has sculpted their character, priorities, and survival instincts.

The family firm of 1925 and the family firm of 2025 share a common thread: a deep sense of stewardship. But the world they inhabit, the pressures they face, and the tools at their disposal could not be more different.

The World of 1925: A Market Built on Muscle and Tradition

In 1925, family businesses were the backbone of nearly every nation’s economy: British textile mills run by second-generation owners; Italian vineyards passed from father to son; Japanese merchant houses governed by tight-knit clans. The model was patriarchal, hierarchical, and often intensely local.

Most family firms of the era shared several characteristics:

• Leadership by inheritance, usually male, with little question of alternative candidates.

• Decision-making based on intuition and tradition, not data or strategic planning.

• A paternalistic relationship with workers, who might stay with one employer for life.

• A narrow customer base, often in the immediate community.

• Limited access to capital, as bank loans were difficult to secure without land or strong collateral.

• Technology limited to mechanisation, with electrification still incomplete in many regions.

Still reeling from the First World War, businesses in 1925 were operating in a fragile peace. Globalisation existed only in embryonic form, and the radio, still a novelty, was one of the few technologies hinting at the interconnected world to come.

A Century of Upheaval: The Historical Forces That Shaped Today’s Family Firms

Family businesses alive today, or rebuilt through successive generations, have weathered an extraordinary set of historical turning points. Each left its mark, forcing adaptations that transformed the nature of family enterprises.

1. The Great Depression (1929–39)

Many family firms in 1925 did not survive the economic devastation that followed. Those that did learned an early lesson in financial prudence, conservative debt, and diversification. The Depression cemented the instinct for cautious long-term planning still seen in family businesses today.

2. The Second World War and Its Aftermath (1939–50s)

Wartime production transformed industries. Family factories pivoted to support national efforts; women took on management and technical roles for the first time. Post-war reconstruction created new markets, while rationing and material shortages forced innovation and lean operations.

3. The Rise of Global Trade (1960s–1980s)

Containerisation, cheaper air travel, and post-colonial trade routes opened global markets. Family firms expanded beyond local boundaries, exporting goods, partnering with foreign distributors, and establishing international branches, an unimaginable prospect for their 1925 predecessors.

4. The Digital Revolution (1980s–2000s)

Computers, email and the internet massively changed how family firms operated. Even the smallest businesses adopted digital accounting, marketing, and inventory systems. E-commerce blurred the line between local and global business, giving small family firms access to the same platforms as international corporations.

5. The Financial Crises (2008 and beyond)

Economic instability strengthened the reputation of family companies as stable, value-driven employers. Their tendency to prioritise survival over short-term gains helped many outlast publicly listed competitors.

6. The Global Pandemic and the Hybrid Work Era (2020s)

The pandemic accelerated digital adoption even further. Family firms embraced remote work, online sales, contactless services, and new community roles. The crisis also triggered mass generational handovers and pushed long-standing issues, succession, governance, sustainability to the forefront.

The Family Firm of 2025: Global, Purposeful, and Professionally Managed

Today’s family enterprises operate in a world that would be unrecognisable to the business owners of 1925. They’re both more complex and more resilient, blending heritage with modern strategy.

Professional Governance and Succession Planning

Where leadership in 1925 was almost always a hereditary right, succession today is treated as a professional process. Families now use boards, external advisers, leadership programmes, and performance reviews—none of which existed a century ago. Many appoint non-family CEOs while retaining ownership and strategic oversight.

Diversity in Leadership

In 1925, the idea of daughters or younger siblings running a family firm was rare. By 2025, women lead thousands of family enterprises worldwide, and younger generations assume top roles earlier, often bringing international experience and modern expertise.

Technology as the New Family Asset

Whereas 1925 firms prized land, machinery, and physical inventory, 2025 firms invest in AI systems, data infrastructure, cloud platforms, and intellectual property. Technology allows even small businesses to scale globally: an artisan workshop can reach customers across five continents through social media and online marketplaces.

Purpose, Values, and Sustainability

Family firms have transformed their historic ethos of stewardship into a modern strategic advantage. Unlike 1925, where survival was the main concern, 2025 family businesses often embed:

• Carbon-neutral targets

• Ethical supply chains

• Community investment

• Social entrepreneurship

The desire to leave a legacy—once focused on lineage—now extends to environmental and societal impact.

Resilience Through Diversification

While the 1925 business might have focused on one craft or trade, the modern family firm often spans multiple industries. Some run legacy operations alongside renewable energy projects, real estate ventures, hospitality portfolios, or tech start-ups. Diversification has become a key survival tool.

What Has Endured Across the Century?

Despite the transformations, some core principles remain unchanged:

• A long-term perspective—thinking in generations, not quarters.

• Deep commitment to employees and community.

• The blending of personal identity with business purpose.

• A preference for steady stewardship over rapid, risky expansion.

• A belief that values matter as much as profit.

These philosophical constants have proven to be the competitive advantage of family firms throughout the century.

From 1925 to 2025: A Legacy of Adaptation

The family business has evolved from a traditional, local enterprise into a sophisticated global player, but its soul remains intact. If the business owners of 1925 could see their successors today, they might marvel at the technology, the global markets, and the professional structures. Yet they would recognise the intent: to build something enduring, meaningful, and capable of being passed on.

As we look ahead, the greatest lesson from this 100-year arc may be simple: family businesses survive because they adapt, but they endure because they care.