VU Center for Enterprise Family Research

 Some of the main concerns that enterprise families have are: Do we have a good family member successor lined up? Who is going to lead? How do we involve the passive family owner group? Should we split up our wealth? How do we untangle financial and non-financial family considerations? Do we aim for short-term profit or long-term impact? Answering these questions cannot be delegated to advisors outside the family because including family members in the decision making process enhances trust and meaning, and thus commitment to collective family action.

In effect, enterprise families have a major impact on our society: They contribute significantly to global economic growth, employment, philanthropic capital, start-up finance, technological innovation, and even to the performance of capital markets. However, according to research by Williams and Preisser (2003), there is a 70% failure rate among enterprise families in continuing the enterprise beyond the next generation, regardless of country, tax laws, or economic cycle. Two main reasons for this are that, in many cases, family dynamics negate sound decision making together and crumble internal relationships. Notwithstanding, some multigenerational enterprise families, like the Rockefeller family now in its seventh generation, show that successful family governance and strong social capital are achievable across several generations.

The public debate on wealth generation and the economic importance of enterprise families is deeply polarized. Therefore, it seems counterintuitive that in the field of family business research, where the family is the crucial variable theoretically distinguishing family businesses from other firms, the academic literature has so far paid less attention to the family itself as a unit of analysis and has focused overwhelmingly on the business system.

The VU Center for Enterprise Family Research (CEFR) studies enterprises at the family level and aims to be a platform of expertise on how to best prepare the rising generation (siblings or cousins who inherit family assets) to be responsible enterprise owners and figure out for themselves which role they want to play in the oversight and management of the enterprise family. As a research platform, the Center offers opportunities for research and executive collaboration between scholars and practitioners.

We explore the root causes on why many enterprise families fail to be prosperous for multiple generations and provide advice and insights in what it takes to ensure continuation of family enterprises. CEFR will develop the curriculum to support emergent and established enterprise family leaders and their rising generation family members to master the skills to maneuver the challenges of transgenerational enterprise families. We bring stimulating learning, pragmatic skills development, open and accessible faculty and excellent networking opportunities to the hospitable VU Amsterdam campus.

The CEFR research and executive learning program are designed to benefit siblings, cousins and advisors of enterprise families that lead and/or manage the family business, the family office, the family foundation or the family investments. The CEFR program participants will gain confidence, knowledge and expertise; explore different approaches to common enterprise challenges and learn how to choose the solution that best fits the enterprise family; and develop skills that prepare for future roles in the family enterprise and understand the roles and responsibilities of owners, the council, the board and the family office.

The VU Center for Enterprise Family Research is led by experienced researchers and practitioners in the field. Scientific director dr. Maarten B.T. de Groot and associate director dr. Lotte Glaser both have considerable experience working with enterprise families and family offices, as well as with qualitative and quantitative analysis.