Research

Practice-relevant research projects building on academic knowledge to extend theory development, formulate policy recommendations and organise life-long learning opportunities for entrepreneurs and SME-managers.

Topics include, amongs else, strategy, innovation, sustainability and circularity, digitalisation, succession or transfers

We mainly examine these topics amongst start-ups, SMEs and

family businesses.

Our research projects

BDO

Ownership is an essential component of the corporate governance structure of a family business. After all, ownership determines who has decision-making power, but also who bears responsibility. Ownership and the transfer of ownership offer opportunities to ensure the long-term continuity of a business, but they can also be a potential source of conflict if clear agreements within the family are not established, or if there is insufficient preparation for the role of (responsible) owner.

This research aims to contribute to a better understanding of the ownership situation and ownership practices in Dutch family businesses. Questions addressed include, among others:

How can we describe the current ownership position of Dutch family businesses in terms of share concentration, generations involved in ownership, etc.?
How do family owners perceive their rights and privileges associated with ownership of a family business?
How do they perceive the obligations and risks associated with ownership? How do they mitigate these risks?
How are potential owners prepared to fulfill their future role? What specific activities are put in place for this preparation?
How do different generations define “responsible ownership”? Do they perceive changes in this concept across the growth phases of a business?
What conflicts are experienced regarding ownership, and how do families handle them?

This research builds upon academic studies on ownership in family businesses. A concise summary of the key scientific conclusions in this research domain is provided in Part 4 of this report.

For data collection, data triangulation is used by consulting multiple data sources to investigate ownership and ownership practices in Dutch family businesses. Specifically, Part 2 reports the results of the quantitative survey research, and Part 3 presents the results of the qualitative focus group research, as well as the document analysis of anonymized family business statutes.

In this study, a family business is defined as a company in which a single family directly or indirectly holds a majority of the decision-making power (for publicly listed companies, 25% of shares held by the family). “Family” refers to the family of the main owner(s).