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In this chapter, the authors broadly discuss the use of historical analysis and methods in family business studies. They start by providing an overview of how (business) historians have approached the topic of family ownership. In the following section, they discuss the issue of sources and their meaning and role in historical research, discussing also in detail the advantages of what they define as ‘longitudinal’ analysis. The subsequent section discusses the qualitative versus quantitative approaches in business history, while a discussion about some current topics in family business studies that would particularly benefit from a historical approach concludes the chapter.

Role models have become important elements to instil professional values, attitudes and behaviours in students. That is why it is recognized that teachers could be good role models. On the one hand, they stand out as the ‘visible face’ of educational institutions to students. On the other hand, their technical/pedagogical competence and their personality are two of the most important determinants for students’ learning attitudes. However, there is not enough literature to explain the characteristics that a teacher should have to become a role model for students, especially in the entrepreneurial field. Therefore, the authors of this study are interested in determining the main characteristics (personal, professional and pedagogical) that make the teacher a driver of entrepreneurial intention among students who take courses related to entrepreneurship education. To collect information and go deeper into the subject, a focus group with entrepreneurs was implemented. The results of the study highlight how the participants believe that teachers of entrepreneurship can motivate students, inspire them, influence them when deciding their future and mainly increase their entrepreneurial intentions. Also, they think that a teacher of entrepreneurship should encourage student participation, be motivating, be a good communicator, be empathic and enjoy teaching the subject. In this way, once the necessary characteristics of a teacher of entrepreneurship have been determined, the relationship between these characteristics and the students’ entrepreneurial intention can be established and teachers can be trained to increase students’ intention.