Listed Family Firms in Germany (German)

Abstract

Family firms are an important phenomenon of the German capital market. We analyse the broadest market segment of the German Stock Exchange, the CDAX, for the years 1998 to 2008. According to a founding-family definition almost half of all CDAX-listed non-financial firms in Germany can be classified as family firms. They also represent about one third of all listed non-financial firms' market capitalization. Within these firms the founding family is not only the most important shareholder but also participates actively in most of the boards (management and supervisory board). In about 50% of all family firms the founder also serves as CEO. Family firms are smaller, younger and have higher equity ratios compared to their non-family counterparts. They are represented in all industries with a certain concentration in the services sectors. We confirm and extend previous evidence by Jaskiewicz (2006) and Andres (2008) that family ownership and management has a positive impact on a firm's operating performance. Our analysis of stock market performance provides evidence that family firms are more sensitive to market movements compared to non-family firms.

Keywords: family firms, Germany, performance

JEL Classification: G30, G32, G34