Prof. Dr. Christina Hoon
In order to actively support and study family businesses, the team of the Endowed Chair conducts research on current issues concerning the management of family businesses. Through extensive cooperation with various partners, science can be combined with practice. Aiming to conduct research that is relevant for practice, we focus in particular on research into so-called "purpose-driven organizations" and their specifics with regard to governance structures, such as the role of advisory and supervisory boards, and the impact on strategic decisions and processes.
Study on advisory boards in family businesses
Constantin Zeif
Our PhD student Constantin Zeif has conducted a study on the future-oriented development and work of advisory boards in family businesses. In numerous qualitative interviews with key decision-makers, more than 50 advisory board constellations were identified and analysed. The initial results were presented and discussed at a conference for entrepreneurs and advisory boards from family businesses at Bielefeld University. We thank all participants!
Generational change in family businesses
Dr Pauline Boberg and Prof. Kai Bormann
What influence does succession have on everyday working life and to what extent are employees affected by a generational change even though they do not belong to the owning family? Pauline Boberg and Kai Bormann explore these questions in their current diary study. Since generational change is one of the most fundamental changes in family businesses, succession potentially influences daily work and how future changes are handled. The results of two empirical studies (with a total of 157 respondents and 1,378 daily observations) show that employees who rate the last generation change as right and important for the company show higher extra-role behaviour during their daily work than employees who rate succession as less positive. Successful succession thus not only affects the entrepreneurial family, but these experiences with the last generation change influence the performance behaviour of employees in family businesses. A systematic and well-prepared succession process is therefore indispensable for the success and performance of family businesses.
Research projects on identity and leadership of a successor
Dr Jana Bövers and Anna Zentgraf
In this projects, Jana Bövers and Anna Zentgraf (University of Hanover) deal with the role of leadership and identity after the handover of a family business to the next generation. With the support of extensive data such as interviews and questionnaires, but also social media entries, the two analyse the role played in particular by the founder's legacy and external managers in a realignment after a handover.
The special resilience of owner-managed family businesses
Matti Schulze and Dr Jana Bövers
In this study, Matti Schulze and Jana Bövers examine the response behaviour of owner-managed family businesses to the COVID-19 crisis. They were able to show that family businesses in particular develop resilience on various levels and that the strong relationships of the businesses in particular make them more resilient. An analysis of 141 companies also revealed four different types that succeeded differently in responding strategically to a crisis in terms of quality and speed.
Relationships between managers and employees in family businesses
Pia Carstensen
What characterises relationships between employees and superiors in family businesses? Pia Carstensen deals with this question. Relationships between superiors and employees are critical for the success of a business. They generally have a high potential for conflict and bad relationships can be very damaging for the company climate. Good relationships, however, have the potential to positively influence the workplace and the working atmosphere and have an impact on employee satisfaction. How these relationships are perceived from the employees' point of view and what effects this perception have is to be found out in a qualitative singe-case study.
A core problem in family business practice is the choice of a long-term strategic orientation and the associated decisions to change strategy. This decision not only relates to the competitiveness of the family business, but is particularly influenced by the tension between family, wealth and entrepreneurship.
In this context, the need for strategic change must be pointed out. The ability to survive, also for family businesses, increasingly depends on adapting to and anticipating market dynamics through strategic reorientation. Along with this rise in importance, the need for efficient management of strategic change in family businesses is growing.
Research projects in this area deal, for example, with the relationship between the characteristics of decision-making processes subject to strategic change between family and non-family members. Reasons for the emergence and failure of strategic family business management are also investigated. Furthermore, the effect of trust, uncertainty as well as firm history on the strategic change of family businesses is examined. These determinants play a particularly imprtant role in family businesses.
Research projects about shared leadership aim to develop theory within family business leadership research. We conducted a comprehensive review, where the previous knowledge about family business leadership is systematically captured. Shared leadership and related leadership techniques are considered a key strategic resource due to their often implicit processes.
A primary goal of the research is therefore to identify the concept of "shared leadership", as current studies do not offer satisfactory insights into how leadership is distributed within family members. Particularly due to the special characteristics of the area of tension between family, wealth and entrepreneurship, the sharing of leadership responsibility represents an opportunity but also a risk in family businesses. For this reason, barriers and obstacles of shared leadership should be investigated. Another project critically examines whether the shared leadership approach used in many studies is actually a suitable theory for investigating leadership in family businesses or whether the specifics of this form of business require a separate theory for family business leadership.
Various methods are used to address these research areas:
The Endowed Chair is very interested in cooperations with family businesses. Collaboration with family businesses enables us to bridge the gap between answering scientifically exiting research questions and testing the applicability of theory-based findings in practice.