This article presents empirical evidence about the contribution of family-controlled business groups as highly efficient alternatives to the large vertically integrated and professionally managed corporation in specific institutional and market environments. This hypothesis is tested with a single case study, SEUR, in the Spanish transport services sector. SEUR is one of the most prominent Spanish courier companies. It was founded during Franco's dictatorshi p, expanded in democratic times, and imaginatively adapted to the financial challenges of the late globalisation at the end of the twentieth century, while maintaining the traditional values based on personal trust and family ties.