• HIF Summer School 2012

    Mergers & Acquisitions in the Family Owned Business

    The Summer School 2012 of the Hamburg Institute of Family Owned Business (HIF) took place from August 26th to August 30th 2012 in the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA). The topics were as follows: What are the drivers behind the increase of M&A transactions?, strategic orientation, company evaluation, finance, the M&A process, post-acquisition-integration and international aspects of M&A. Sessions were held by scholars, consultants and family entrepreneurs such as Prof. Dr. Thomas Zellweger (St. Gallen University), Prof. Dr. Sanjay Goel (University of Minnesota, Duluth; International Family Enterprise Research Academy IFERA) and Thomas Etzel (BHF Private Equity Management).

  • Introducing the HIF

    Family businesses have not only been guarantors for economic stability, sustainable investment and future-oriented activity in the recent past but will continue to do so.

    Considering the importance of the research area relatively little scientific research has been conducted in the field of family owned enterprises.
    It is sought to gain insights which aid the family businesses in their daily business activites and their strategic orientation as well as form a basis for potential recommendations for the legislator. With the privately funded institute we intend to prove that Hamburg is a city not only with a vibrant community but a place of academic and scientific excellence... »more

  • FIRST, INTERNATIONAL, ACADEMIC SYMPOSIUM, November 2011

    November 17th - 19th 2011

    Scientists from the U.S., Great Britain, Italy, Germany and other countries gathered from November 17th - 19th 2011 in the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce to discuss and explore several important family business related topics? »more

  • Engaging Presentations and discussions during the second International Academic Symposium of the HIF

    This year's annual symposium with the topic 'Mergers and Acquisitions - The Family Owned Business as Purchaser, Seller or Target' took place from August 30th to September 1st 2012 at Warburg Haus. The invitation to the event was followed by around 20 scholars from nine countries who were given the opportunity to represent their university as well as discuss their own current research activities.

Current Publications

HWWI Update

INTERNATIONALISATION IN SME

by Gunnar Geyer and Amrisha Uriep 

Small and medium sized enterprises (SME) face many challenges in the course of their international activities. These include, among other things, scarcity of resources or, compared to big corporations, a heightened susceptibility to political or legal risks. Even when there is an initial motive for activity abroad, the absence of an expedient and reliable strategy may often be the reason why SME are unsuccessful in their endeavour towards internationalisation. A further key obstacle may be the enterprise structure. How may SME develop a strategy for internationalisation to utilize the many advantages?... »more

HIF Publication

COMPANY EXIT - SALE OR TRANSFER WITHIN THE FAMILY 

by Professor Dr. Günther Strunk and Helge F. Kolaschnik

A challenge in terms of business, law and tax

A large number of medium-sized companies in Hamburg and the whole of Germany, whether they are managed by external managers or the owners themselves, family businesses or non-family businesses, are currently faced with the question: How does the company proceed when the current owner - usually due to age-related reasons - departs from the business? Although the family aims at the preservation of the company in most cases, it appears sensible and necessary to also consider the alternative of selling the business. In order to find out which of a number of available options should ultimately be implemented several business, law and tax related questions have to be clarified on company as well as management level… »more

HWWI Standpunkt

FAMILY BUSINESSES: THE FACE OF THE GERMAN ECONOMY

by Prof. Dr. Thomas Straubhaar
Director of the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI)

Small and medium-sized firms have deservedly been described as the backbone of the German economy. They are a driving force behind growth and employment. This applies to the Hamburg metropolitan region just as much as to Germany as a whole. In Hamburg around 70 % of all jobs subject to social insurance contributions are in small and medium-sized firms. Small companies with less than 20 employees are the rule, big companies with over 500 employees the exception... »more

Hamburger Wirtschaft 7/2011

Business Succession – Transfer with Care

by Christoph Herting
Hamburg Chamber of Commerce

When looking for a new proprietor, every small or mid-sized firm is faced with a pivotal challenge. Good preparation, open communication and clear rules are vital. Someone who has passed on a business over four generations of a family will have something to say about business succession and changes in general: “It all began with around a hundred horses and transportation routes between Bergedorf and Hamburg and the first purchase of a lorry back in 1928”, recounts Carsten Buhck about the origins of a family business that was... »more