It's All In The Family At The Babson Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices (STEP) Summits In Europe, Latin America And Asia Pacific

WELLESLEY, Mass., Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More family businesses exist than any other type of business organization in the world. Babson College's STEP Project will research and reward these family businesses during their regional European Summit, held this past October, and at the upcoming Latin American and Asia Pacific Summits, held November 12th-15th and November 22rd-24th, respectively.

The Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices (STEP) Project is a global applied research initiative that explores the entrepreneurial process within family businesses. It encourages and examines the continuance of the entrepreneurial mindsets and capabilities that enable family businesses to turn actions into ideas while creating new streams of wealth across generations. Since its founding in 2005 by Babson and 6 European affiliates, the STEP Project has grown to 44 affiliates involving over 200 of the world's foremost scholars and more than 100 families.

The STEP Summits take place in connection with Global Entrepreneurship Week, the world's largest celebration of entrepreneurship, which runs from Nov. 12th-18th.

Regional summits are core to STEP's success, returning value to the families that participate in research and allowing researchers to understand the applicability of their findings.

In this year's European Summit, more than 35 participants met in Hersonisos, Crete and discussed issues that dealt with Power, Governance, Emotions, Entrepreneurial Values and Culture, Innovation and Internationalization in family businesses. Interactive sessions, group activities, exercises and theatrical role plays enhanced the knowledge of all participants and allowed for constructive exchange of opinions. The Entrepreneurship Division Chair, Candy Brush, attended the summit.

STEP's Latin American Summit will take place at Fundacao Dom Cabral in Nova Lima, Brazil, in concurrence with Global Entrepreneurship Week. Later in November, STEP will host the Asia Pacific Summit at Bangkok University. Leveraging its network, STEP has joined with the Bangkok Bank and Fundacao Dom Cabral to incorporate the Summits into already existing family-focused conferences in order to bring together an even greater number of attendees interested in family enterprise.

Find out more about the Latin America Summit http://www.fdc.org.br/hotsites/STEP/index.html

Find out more about the Asia Pacific Summit http://www.babson.edu/Academics/centers/blank-center/global-research/step/events/Pages/events.aspx

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds(r). The College is a dynamic living and learning laboratory, where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society -- while at the same time evolving our methods and advancing our programs. We shape the leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to create economic and social value. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought and Action(r) as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value. For information, visit www.babson.edu.

About STEP

Founded in 2005 by Babson College in collaboration with six academic affiliates in Europe, the STEP Project is a global applied research initiative that explores the entrepreneurial process within business families and generates solutions that have immediate application for family leaders. The visionary institutions that founded the project include ESADE (Spain), HEC (France), Jonkoping International Business School (Sweden), Universita Bocconi (Italy), Universitat St. Gallen (Switzerland), Universitat Witten/Herdecke (Germany), and Babson College (USA). Visit STEP at http://www.babson.edu/Academics/centers/blank-center/global-research/step/Pages/home.aspx

About Global Entrepreneurship Week

Global Entrepreneurship Week is the world's largest celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. During one week each November, GEW inspires people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. These activities, from large-scale competitions and events to intimate networking gatherings, connect participants to potential collaborators, mentors and even investors--introducing them to new possibilities and exciting opportunities. Visit http://www.unleashingideas.org/

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SOURCE Babson College