ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The Nordic countries would have been much less affluent without the dynasties they spawned. These families brought market economies to the region during the Industrial Revolution, leading the way to export breakthroughs and growing prosperity. The dynasties rebuilt the countries when the rural areas were dynamos of growth and they drew their sustenance from entrepreneurship outside the urban centres. Even the younger dynasties have enriched the Nordic countries, and the way that family businesses pursue their activities has a direct impact on society's economic fortunes. Why have so many large, successful family businesses emerged in the Nordic countries? And what is the reason that firms whose owners remained anonymous have been unable to survive or grow as rapidly over the long run? The tendency towards paying exaggerated reverence to tradition is also on the negative side of the dynastic ledger.
