Mut & Weisheit

In the study „Courage & Wisdom. How Members of Family Businesses and Entrepreneurial Families View Courage and Wisdom“ (2025), Tom Rüsen and Ruth Orenstrat use a quantitative survey to examine the significance of the two key guiding concepts – courage and wisdom – in the context of family businesses and entrepreneurial families. The analysis is based on responses from 205 participants from the WIFU Foundation’s network – predominantly non-family members of family businesses and members of entrepreneurial families – and provides a nuanced picture of the subjective interpretations and practical relevance of both concepts.

The first part of the study focuses on the concept of courage. The findings show that, in the context of family businesses, courage is primarily associated with a forward-looking approach, taking responsibility, trust, opportunities and innovation. A large proportion of respondents state that they have made courageous strategic decisions frequently or very frequently over the past five years. At the same time, it becomes clear that, in most family businesses, courage is not understood as taking risks without due consideration, but is closely linked to decision-making processes, risk management and the active promotion of courageous decisions within the family and the business. A majority also regard courage as an important factor for success in succession planning.

The second part is devoted to understanding wisdom and its role in an intergenerational context. Wisdom is primarily associated with experiential knowledge, knowledge, a long-term perspective, tradition, foresight and respect. The study shows that the experiences of earlier generations have a strong influence on the decisions made today in many family businesses, without necessarily hindering the capacity for innovation and change. Rather, the majority of respondents describe the interplay between traditional business wisdom and modern management approaches as well-balanced. The findings thus underline the importance of courage and wisdom as complementary guiding principles for sustainable decision-making processes and the long-term development potential of family businesses.