Examining a centenary family business in the pasta industry: the case of Barilla, 1877- 1971

Purpose:
This paper draws on a family business perspective to explore the evolution of corporate governance at Italian centenary pasta firm Barilla from its founding to 1971. The study builds on prior research which has applied the three-circle model of family business systems in a historic context.
Design/Methodology/Approach
Using legal records five phases in the history of Barilla are noted. Annual reports and other sources have allowed for some more insights into business events and developments. Then, drawing on the three-circle model of family business, the corporate governance regime is mapped to the model and the family actors.
Findings:
The findings here support extant literature in that the systems in the three-circle model are found to overlap more in a historic setting. Challenges with the three-circle model are also noted, specifically, when corporate governance is considered across a century of an organization’s history.
Originality/value:
This study supports prior use of three-circle model of a family business in an historic context, providing further evidence the model is not static over time. Contrary to the original three-circle model, this study suggests that family actors can potentially occupy more than one location in the model if the non-human actor of corporate governance and its effect on human actors is also
considered.