Background & Goals

Family businesses contribute significantly to the economic power of the German-speaking and international economies.

Through research, teaching and continuing education, the Center for Family Businesses contributes to further increasing the economic and social impact of owner-managed companies in particular and to sustainably strengthening the location.

The center was founded in 2016 as a joint initiative by the MCI Management Center Innsbruck and the Chamber of Commerce of Tyrol and is continued as a distinct research lab and transfer center at the MCI since July 2017.

The biggest difference between family businesses and non-family businesses lies in their owner structure and organizational structure. A family business is owned by one or multiple family members who actively participate in the business.

The center considers itself a focal point for family businesses in Western Austria and beyond.

• It cooperates with academic institutions, associations, companies and other institutions.
• It uses its economic, technological and innovational potential to promote, deepen and strengthen the economic, political and social significance of family businesses in the German-speaking and international area.
• It does so through concrete activities.

The center supports family businesses and fosters an exchange between science and business.

Some of the center’s key goals are:

• Preservation of family businesses, their innovative power and competitiveness across generations
• Active exchange of experiences between family businesses and between science and business
• Applied research, transfer and field projects
• Education, continuing education, knowledge transfer, congress and events
• Promotion of qualified successors of family businesses
• Communication, public relations, employer branding and awareness building
  
  

The center offers specific services to attain this goal.