Ga ni z, Johanna; on Mal zan, Anne e; Wohl abe, Klaus
A icle
Famda a: Da abase o amily business companies in
Ge many co e ing company key igu es and su ey da a
Jou nal o Economics and S a is ics
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
De G uy e B ill
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Ga ni z, Johanna; on Mal zan, Anne e; Wohl abe, Klaus (2025) : Famda a:
Da abase o amily business companies in Ge many co e ing company key igu es and su ey da a,
Jou nal o Economics and S a is ics, ISSN 2366-049X, De G uy e Oldenbou g, Be lin, Vol. 245, Iss.
1/2, pp. 235-246,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1515/jbns -2023-0056
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
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Da a Obse e
Johanna Ga ni z*, Anne e on Mal zan and Klaus Wohl abe
FamDa a: Da abase o Family Business
Companies in Ge many Co e ing Company
Key Figu es and Su ey Da a
h ps://doi.o g/10.1515/jbns -2023-0056
Recei ed Augus 4, 2023; accep ed Augus 6, 2023
Abs ac : FamDa a is a da abase co e ing amily businesses and non- amily
businesses ac oss a ious size classes and b anches con aining s uc u al and
financial in o ma ion. The i o ins i u e assembled a business panel wi h execu i es
om almos 4000 companies. In addi ion o he “ha d”business da a like u no e
and numbe o employees, he da abase also includes “so ”su ey da a. The la e
one co e s in o ma ion om egula –a leas yea ly –su eys ea ing opics
like in es men beha io , skilled labo sho age o eac ion o fi ms du ing he
Co ona pandemic si ua ion and he ise in ene gy p ices obse ed in 2022.
Keywo ds: amily businesses; mic o da a; su eys
JEL Classifica ion: C80; C81; C83; D22
1 In oduc ion and Some Backg ound
The p i a e economic sec o in Ge many is domina ed by amily businesses (S i -
ung Familienun e nehmen 2023). Mo e han 90 pe cen o all Ge man non-public
businesses a e amily businesses (S i ung Familienun e nehmen 2019a). A cen al
aim o esea ch on amily businesses is o analyze hei cha ac e is ics in e ms o
co po a e go e nance and hei impac on en ep eneu ial success. A cen al di -
e ence o non- amily businesses is he se lemen o business succession. The
concep o sus ainabili y is o g ea impo ance o amily businesses, as hei owne s
and manage s usually s i e o pass on hei li e’s wo k wi hin he amily (S i ung
*Co esponding au ho : Johanna Ga ni z, i o Ins i u e –Leibniz-Ins i u e o Economic Resea ch a he
Uni e si y o Munich e.V., Poschinge s aße 5, 81679 München, Ge many, E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
Anne e on Mal zan and D . Klaus Wohl abe, i o Ins i u e –Leibniz-Ins i u e o Economic Resea ch a
he Uni e si y o Munich e.V., Poschinge s aße 5, 81679 München, Ge many, E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
(A. on Mal zan), [email p o ec ed] (K. Wohl abe). h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-5651-2641 (K. Wohl abe)
Jou nal o Economics and S a is ics 2025; 245(1–2): 235–246
Open Access. © 2023 he au ho (s), published by De G uy e . This wo k is licensed unde he
C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License.
Familienun e nehmen 2019a). Wimme (2022) s a es ha he decisi e diffe ence o
he con en ional unde s anding o leade ship lies in he ac ha a he helm o
amily businesses a e en ep eneu s who gea hei en ep eneu ial commi men o
a long- e m ime ho izon. Thus, he aim is o c ea e some hing ha can be passed on
om gene a ion o gene a ion as a special alue, a alue ha p o ides he amily as
an en ep eneu ial amily wi h i s social iden i y, i s economic li elihood and hus i s
cohesion o e long pe iods o ime. This aspec plays a cen al ole in scien ific
esea ch.
The de elopmen o he company da abase FamDa a wi h amily and non- amily
businesses is based on his basic idea. The FamDa a da abase has been es ablished on
behal o he S i ung Familienun e nehmen as a comp ehensi e analysis ool.
1
The
aim o he da abase is o map Ge many’s di e se business landscape, diffe en ia ing
be ween amily businesses and non- amily businesses. Among o he hings, i offe s
he possibili y o p o iding up- o-da e and a ge ed da a on he business landscape a
sho no ice. O he issues can be he analysis o s uc u al changes in he Ge man
business landscape, he effec s o egula ion, axes and o he loca ion ac o s on
diffe en o ms o business, and on diffe ences in he decision-making and ac i i y
o diffe en ypes and g oups o businesses.
The da abase also o ms he basis o he p ojec “Un e nehmensmoni o de
S i ung Familienun e nehmen”and he su eys conduc ed in his con ex . The ocus
is on he so-called “Annual Moni o o he Founda ion o Family Businesses”
(Jah esmoni o o sho ), a ep esen a i e business su ey conduc ed annually by
he i o Ins i u e on cu en issues, which enables a well- ounded analysis o a ious
economic and social de elopmen s o amily businesses in compa ison o non- amily
businesses. In addi ion o his ex ensi e annual su ey, o he sho e business
su eys, so-called “mood moni o s”, a e ca ied ou on cu en opics such as he
de elopmen o ene gy p ices o how businesses a e dealing wi h he consequences
o he Co ona pandemic. The i o Ins i u e is esponsible o de eloping he esea ch
design, o ganizing, and conduc ing he su eys, and subsequen ly analyzing he
esul s. The Founda ion o Family Businesses, as clien ( ully unded), plays a key
ole in iden i ying he opics and de eloping he ques ionnai es, and has ull igh s o
disposal o e he da a collec ed.
In addi ion, FamDa a se es ano he cen al unc ion as he basis o su eys
conduc ed as pa o he p ojec “Un e nehmensmoni o ”o he Founda ion o
Family Businesses. In addi ion o he “ha d”business da a and ac s, which a e
o en a ailable wi h a ime lag, “so ”su ey-based da a a e an ideal supplemen
o a quickly a ailable pic u e o he mood on ce ain economic issues and opics.
1The S i ung Familienun e nehmen (Founda ion o Family Businesses) is one o he la ges p o-
mo e s o science and esea ch in he field o amily business (www. amilienun e nehmen.de).
236 J. Ga ni z e al.
Responden s om nea ly 4000 companies ha e ag eed o ake pa in su eys on a
egula basis since he s a o he p ojec in 2017 and hus o m he backbone o he
su eys. Response a es a y and each up o 54 pe cen .
Fundamen al o all esea ch in he field o amily businesses is he iden ifica ion
o he co esponding amily s uc u e. Family businesses a e no bound o a ce ain
size in e ms o employees o u no e . They can also be ound in almos any indus y
and need no en e ain a specific legal o m (S i ung Familienun e nehmen 2023).
So, wha is a amily business? In scien ific esea ch and in he gene al public he e is
no defini i e single answe in he o m o a unique defini ion. Acco ding o he
Founda ion o Family Businesses (S i ung Familienun e nehmen 2023) a company
o any size is a amily business i :
(1) The majo i y o decision-making igh s is in he possession o he na u al
pe son(s) who es ablished he company, o in he possession o he na u al
pe son(s) who has/ha e acqui ed he sha e capi al o he company, o in he
possession o hei spouses, pa en s, child o child en’s di ec hei s.
(2) The majo i y o hese decision-making igh s a e indi ec o di ec .
(3) A leas one ep esen a i e o he amily o kin is o mally in ol ed in he
go e nance o he company.
Lis ed companies mee he defini ion o a amily business i he pe son(s)
who es ablished o acqui ed he company (sha e capi al) o hei amilies o
descendan s hold a leas 25 pe cen o he decision-making igh s manda ed by
hei sha e capi al. This defini ion includes amily companies which ha e no ye
gone h ough he fi s gene a ional ans e . In he complemen su eys, he
assignmen o companies o he class o amily o non- amily companies is based on
he sel -assessmen o he company’s expe s, who a e usually membe s o he
managemen o a g oup o execu i es. The classifica ion in he FamDa a as amily
businesses o non- amily businesses is based on hese wo app oaches: ei he he
company mee s he abo e o mal defini ion o desc ibes i sel as a amily business.
2 Desc ip ion o he Da abase FamDa a
The FamDa a da abase o he Founda ion o amily businesses was ini ia ed in 2017
and has since been con inuously buil up and en iched wi h da a. Meanwhile, mo e
han 12,000 companies as well as su ey esul s om nume ous p ima y esea ch o
he Founda ion o Family Businesses in coope a ion wi h he i o Ins i u e and o he
esea ch ins i u ions can be ound in he da abase.
Da abase o Family Business 237
Basically, he FamDa a con ains o h ee a eas:
1. Company da abase: pseudonymized s uc u al and financial his o ical da a
amongs all companies wi h diffe en ia ion (i possible) in amily and non- amily
businesses con aining he 500 la ges amily businesses and a co esponding
con ol g oup.
2. Su ey da abase: pseudonymized su ey da a on ele an poli ical economic
opics among he pa icipa ing panel membe s (app oxima ely 3800 fi ms who
ag eed on aking pa egula ly in su eys) o he FamDa a (see Sec ion 3).
3. Sha eholde da abase: pseudonymized sha eholde da a based on egula
su eys among he amily businesses companies o he panel con aining
ques ions on he gene a ion and succession plans o he business o example.
The company da abase con ains in pseudonymous o m all in o ma ion on s uc u al
a iables (indus y, numbe o employees, legal o m, yea o ounda ion, s ock
exchange lis ing) and financial a iables ( u no e , p ofi , equi y, e c.) as well as i
possible he c i e ia o amily business. The comp ehensi e company in o ma ion
is aken om he O bis da abase.
2
This con ains da a on mo e han 300 million
companies wo ldwide. The da abase is ope a ed by Bu eau an Dijk, a subsidia y o
Moody’s Analy ics. Bu eau an Dijk collec s and p ocesses da a om mo e han 170
diffe en p o ide s as well as om hund eds o i s own sou ces, which a e combined
in O bis. These p ima ily include na ional c edi agencies, such as C edi e o m o
Ge many and Aus ia, bu Fi ch Ra ings and Reu e s a e also among he da abase’s
sou ces. Fo FamDa a, i is cen al ha all companies a e di ided in o amily and
non- amily businesses. FamDa a con ains diffe en sou ces and app oaches which
companies mee he c i e ia o amily business o non- amily businesses. Those we e
esea ched by he Founda ion o Family Businesses i sel o by i s p ojec pa ne s,
e.g. in o ma ion on long-s anding o lis ed amily businesses. In all su eys, pa ic-
ipan s a e also asked o classi y hemsel es as amily business o non- amily
business. FamDa a also includes he 500 la ges amily businesses in Ge many
iden ified by he Ins i u ü Mi els ands o schung in Mannheim (S i ung Fami-
lienun e nehmen 2022a).
3
This compila ion o he TOP 500 amily businesses in
Ge many is egula ly commissioned by he Founda ion o Family Businesses and
con ains o he 500 amily businesses wi h he highes sales plus he 500 amily
businesses wi h he mos employees. Since he e is a e y la ge o e lap he e, he
esul is a compila ion o cu en ly 628 amily businesses. In addi ion o he TOP 500
amily businesses, a con ol g oup was iden ified om he g oup o non- amily
2www.b din o.de.
3The lis o he Top 500 amily businesses comp ises hose companies wi h a u no e o mo e han
474 million eu os o a leas 1978 employees in 2020.
238 J. Ga ni z e al.
businesses in FamDa a whose s uc u e (such as sec o and company size) ma ches
ha o he la ges amily businesses. The da abase cu en ly comp ises 12,940
businesses, o which 54 pe cen a e amily businesses and 12 pe cen a e non- amily
businesses.
4
The su ey da abase con ains all mic o da a om he su eys in pseudonymized
o m ( o he con en s o he su eys, see chap e 3). In addi ion, selec ed s uc u al
da a on he companies, which a e asked in e e y su ey, a e: sel -iden ifica ion
o amily business o non- amily business, u no e in Ge many and ab oad,
employees in Ge many and ab oad. Thus, each su ey wa e includes imely
pe o mance indica o s like employees and u no e .
The sha eholde da abase, whose ques ions a e pa o one egula annual
su ey, a e dealing wi h he ollowing aspec s amongs amily businesses and a e
also p o ided in pseudonymized o m:
–A e amily membe s ac i e in he managemen ?
–Does he amily business ha e a supe iso y boa d?
–A e amily membe s ac i e in supe iso y bodies?
–A e he e successo s om he amily o he managemen ?
–A e he e successo s om he amily o he supe iso y bodies?
–In which gene a ion is he company cu en ly managed?
–How many amily membe s own he company?
The anonymi y and pseudonymi y assu ed o he pa icipan s is always main ained.
Table 1 gi es an o e iew o he dis ibu ion o fi ms in FamDa a ac oss a ious
dimensions like b anch, size o legal ype. No o all fi ms all in o ma ion a e
a ailable. So, pe cen ages do no always add up o 100 %. As in he i o mon hly
business su ey la ge fi ms a e o e sampled (Hie semenzel e al. 2022).
The o he wo pa s o he FamDa a co e he su ey esul s. The panel cu en ly
consis s o 3773 esponden s om amily and non- amily businesses, who a e usually
membe s o he managemen o o he senio s affin he company. They ha e ag eed
o be a ailable o he egula su eys.
The panel was buil up by ac i ely con ac ing companies du ing he su eys o
he Annual Moni o . The companies we e selec ed by sampling om he O bis
da abase ac oss all sec o s and size classes. Wi h an a e age esponse a e o wo
pe cen achie ed using pos al mailing, a co espondingly la ge sample mus be
d awn o build up he panel in he long e m. A ound 30,000 companies we e
andomly con ac ed each yea un il 2021. The panel s a ed in 2017 wi h an ini ial 623
panel membe s. Each yea , new companies we e successi ely ec ui ed o he
4Fo 34 pe cen o he companies, he e is no clea classifica ion ega ding amily o non- amily
business due o a lack o da a o sel -classifica ion.
Da abase o Family Business 239
Table :Dis ibu ion o fi ms in FamDa a ac oss size and b anches.
FamDa a Non- amily
business
Family
business
Panel
No. % No. % No. % No. %
Size ange classifica ion (No. o employees)
– . . . .
– . . . .
– . . . .
– . . . .
>. . . . .
To al . . . .
Sec o
Mining and qua ying .. ..
Manu ac u ing . . . .
Elec ici y, gas, s eam and ai condi ioning
supply
. . . .
Wa e supply .. . .
Cons uc ion .. . .
Wholesale and e ail ade . . . .
T anspo a ion and s o age .. . .
Accommoda ion and ood se ice ac i i ies .. . .
In o ma ion and communica ion ac i i ies .. . .
Financial and insu ance ac i i ies . . . .
Real es a e ac i i ies .. . .
P o essional, scien ific and echnical ac i i ies . . . .
O he economic se ice ac i i ies .. . .
Educa ion ....
Human heal h and social wo k ac i i ies ....
A s, spo s and ec ea ion ... .
O he se ice ac i i ies .. . .
To al . . . .
Legal classifica ion
Co po a e en i ies . . . .
Non-co po a e en i ies . . . .
Indi idual p op ie o ship .. . .
To al . . . .
Tu no e classifica ion
<million .. . .
–million .. . .
– million .. . .
– million . . . .
> million . . . .
To al . . . .
No e: All in o ma ion as o end . No o all fi ms all in o ma ion a e a ailable.
240 J. Ga ni z e al.
su eys in his way. A e he panel g ew o mo e han 3000 companies in 2021, he
andomly d awn sample o he new ec ui men was educed by abou one hi d.
Cu en ly, 3773 company ep esen a i es a e a ailable o he egula su eys. In he
u u e, he aim is o keep his panel s able a his size o a ound 4000 companies. The
espec i e esponse a es in he a ious su eys ange be ween 32 and 54 pe cen ,
wi h an a e age o 42 pe cen . The diffe ence can be explained by he espec i e
choice o opic on which he su ey is based: In 2020, he ocus o he Annual Moni o
was on he co ona c isis and i s impac on companies. A pa icula ly la ge numbe o
companies el ha his opic was ele an , and he bes esponse a e o 54 pe cen
was achie ed. The success in a ac ing new companies o he panel was also abou
wice as high as in o he yea s, wi h o e 1000 new membe s.
3 Topics and Publica ion o he Supplemen a y
Su ey Da a
FamDa a enables di e se esea ch on a wide ange o opics. Fo his eason, he e is
no fixed s uc u e o he supplemen a y su ey da a, excep o he sha eholde
s uc u es in amily businesses. Each yea , he opics a e selec ed acco ding o
cu en ele ance o business and economic policy. The su ey is conduc ed bo h by
s anda d mail and ia an online su ey. The su ey o new ec ui ed pa icipan s
can only be ca ied ou by mail. Howe e , o ecological easons, as well as due o
he as e , mo e efficien and esou ce-sa ing a ailabili y o su ey esul s o
sho - e m ele an ques ions, he aim is o u he expand he online p opo ion o
panel membe s. A e he su ey was p ima ily conduc ed by mail a he beginning
o he panel su ey, he p opo ion o online pa icipan s has now g adually
inc eased om 30 pe cen in 2019 o a balanced a io o 50 pe cen each o online and
pape pa icipan s in 2022. A sho o e iew o all su eyed opics gi es Table 2,
including he espec i e e e ence wi h he p esen a ion o he su ey esul s.
The espec i e ques ionnai es can be ound in Ga ni z e al. (2023).
The mos comp ehensi e su eys a e hose o he annual moni o . These su eys
ha e been ca ied ou since he beginning o he p ojec and ep esen he main
wa es. Figu e 1 gi es an o e iew o he panel s uc u e o FamDa a o he six
main wa es, hus p o ides in o ma ion how o en and egula panel companies
pa icipa ed. The le panel shows all companies en e ing he panel o e he wa es.
The igh panel displays how cons an ly fi ms pa icipa ed in he espec i e wa es.
The pic u e e eals some fluc ua ions, which a e qui e usual o hose olun a y
su eys, as companies join o lea e he panel. Wa e 4, whose opic was he Co ona
pandemic, u ned ou o be a ca ching subjec o he fi ms, eflec ing a high esponse
Da abase o Family Business 241
Table :Co e ed opics in su eys.
Yea Topic Su ey/p ojec
pa ne
Responses Su ey
pe iod
Re e ence
In es men beha io
and i s influencing
ac o s
Annual moni o
(Wa e )
May–July
Ra hje and Wohl abe
(); S i ung Fami-
lienun e nehmen ()
In e na ional ax
compe i ion om a
co po a e pe spec i e
Annual moni o
(Wa e )
Ap il–July
Ra hje and Wohl abe
(); S i ung Fami-
lienun e nehmen ()
Economic policy o a
s ong EU
Annual moni o
(Wa e )
Ap il–June
Ga ni z e al. ();
Ra hje (); Ra hje and
Hannich (); S i ung
Familienun e nehmen
(b)
The esilience o he
Ge man economy in
he co ona pandemic
Annual moni o /
ZEW (Wa e )
May–June
S i ung Fami-
lienun e nehmen ()
The co ona pandemic:
Tes imony o policy
Mood moni o Oc obe
Con ibu ion o amily
go e nance o he
c isis esilience o he
amily business
Resea ch su ey
p o . Wind ho s
Augus –
Sep embe
Wind ho s ()
Clima e p o ec ion
challenge
Annual moni o
(Wa e )
May–July
S i ung Fami-
lienun e nehmen (a)
Mo i es o a ounda-
ion solu ion
Resea ch su ey
IPRI
Feb ua y–
Ma ch
S i ung Fami-
lienun e nehmen (b)
Expec a ions on he
new ede al
go e nmen
Mood moni o Augus –
Sep embe
Bu den o ising en-
e gy cos s I –effec s
on companies and
hei poli ical p o-
posals o ac ion
Mood moni o Ap il
Sho age o skilled
wo ke s om he
company’s poin o
iew: effec s and
possible solu ions
Annual moni o
(Wa e )
June–
Augus
S i ung Fami-
lienun e nehmen (b)
Bu den o ising en-
e gy cos s and lack o
secu i y o supply II –
impac on companies
Mood moni o Oc obe
242 J. Ga ni z e al.
