Family entrepreneurship: Evaluating the role of ownership, financial goals, and performance

In the brittle, anxious, nonlinear, and incomprehensible (BANI) world, which extends and intensifies the characteristics of the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity world, entrepreneurs face decisive challenges. The environment is not only BANI, but growth and aging also require critical decision making. Especially after their foundation, companies are based on the financial and personal influence of the founders and family members. However, as the company and family members grow and age, personal priorities shift, as do the company’s needs. Companies often need external investments as well as human capital to grow successfully. In family businesses, especially in Switzerland, one of the characteristics is ownership by the founder or their descendants. Extensive research shows that these companies generally differ from widely held public companies. Even though research on entrepreneurship is flourishing, the role of the family still needs to be analyzed further.