Welcome to the EQUA Endowed Chair for Family Business Culture and Ownership

The German economy and society are strongly influenced by family businesses and their owners.

According to estimates by the Family Firm Institute, family businesses provide more than half of the jobs in Germany. More than 50% of Germany’s economic power is generated by entrepreneurial families. In addition, these influential families often engage in various social and environmental causes. This phenomenon, known as “Family Philanthropy”, has a far-reaching effect, not only in Germany, but also on societies and communities worldwide.

With the EQUA Endowed Chair for family businesses, we seek to explore the unique culture of family businesses, to investigate entrepreneurial and social activities of business families and to systematically analyze family philanthropy.

For more information on Prof. Melanie Richards and her team, please see here. More information concerning teaching and research can be found on the left menu. An overview of our latest news can be found here.