Family Strategy Development in Business Families

In the practical guide *Family Strategy Development in Entrepreneurial Families – Content and Forms of Family Governance and Family Management Systems*, published by the WIFU Foundation (2022), Tom A. Rüsen, Arist von Schlippe and Torsten Groth present the Witten Model of Family Strategy Development. The guide is based on more than two decades of research by the Witten Institute for Family Businesses and systematises the strategic self-organisation of entrepreneurial families as an independent, long-term task in its own right, alongside corporate strategy.

A key component is a twelve-step model that addresses key areas of family governance in a structured manner. These include, amongst others, a commitment to family entrepreneurship; the definition of family and the circle of shareholders; values and objectives; the roles of family members within the business and as shareholders; decision-making frameworks; dividend policy; and the establishment of family and corporate bodies. The guide makes it clear that family strategy must be understood not as a one-off document, but as a reflective process that integrates questions of identity, potential for conflict and cross-generational perspectives.

Particular emphasis is placed on practical applicability: numerous guiding questions, examples from family constitutions and references to empirical studies help entrepreneurial families to make implicit rules explicit and to develop sustainable governance structures. The guide positions family strategy as an ongoing task for responsible owner families and provides a well-founded framework for ensuring long-term family cohesion, the ability to function as shareholders and the continuity of the business.