The Continuity and Discontinuity of the 250 Largest Enterprises in Germany: A History-Based Analysis of Family Influence, Corporate Development and Ownership Transactions (Familienunternehmen und KMU)

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Contents
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction
	1.1 Starting Observations: Developments of Family and Non-Family Enterprises
	1.2 Overarching Research Project: Growth and Downfall of Family Businesses
	1.3 Research Objectives: Long-Term Analysis of German Enterprises
	1.4 Structure of the Dissertation: From Concept to Results
2 Literature, Underlying Concepts and Research Gaps
	2.1 Theoretical Perspectives: The Development of Enterprises
		2.1.1 Conditions of Survival and Failure: Company and Industry Characteristics
		2.1.2 Growth, Stagnation and Decline: Research Focuses on Success Developments
	2.2 Current State: Historical Sciences and Family Business Research
		2.2.1 Historical Perspective: The Long-Term Development of (Family) Enterprises
		2.2.2 Family Business Research: An Emerging Research Area
	2.3 Research Gap: Quantitative Long-Term Analysis of Family and Non-Family Enterprises
3 Methodology and Research Questions
	3.1 Business, Economy and History: The Historical Method
	3.2 History-Informed Approach: Family Business Research and Historical Sciences
	3.3 Quantitative Analysis, Sample and Contextualization: Considering the Broader Picture
	3.4 Applied Framework: Tracking Ownership, Operations and Solvency
	3.5 Applied Timeframe: 60 Years and Two Generations
	3.6 Research Questions: Development of the Largest Enterprises in Germany
	3.7 Data Collection and Categorization: Comprehensive 7-Step Approach
		3.7.1 Dataset I: The (Dis)Continuity of the 250 Largest Enterprises of 1958
		3.7.2 Dataset II: The (Dis)Continuity of the 250 Largest Enterprises of 2018
		3.7.3 Interlude: The Unknown Voting Rights of the Siemens Family
4 History of the German Industrial Landscape between 1958 and 2018
	4.1 Economic Developments: Overall Growth with Structural Changes
	4.2 Political Developments: From Nations to a Union
	4.3 Legal Developments: Increasing Transparency and Competition
	4.4 Summary: The Continuous and Dynamic Development of the German Economy
5 Quantitative Analysis: The 250 Largest Enterprises of 1958 and 2018
	5.1 Enterprise Size Ranges and Modeled Growth Rates: Growing Bigger—Fast
	5.2 Types of Companies: Reshuffling the Composition with One Constant
	5.3 Legal Forms: Using the Broader Selection of Available Legal Forms
	5.4 Listings: Declining Importance of the Capital Market
	5.5 Age: Getting Older and More Evenly Distributed
	5.6 Industry: The Rise and Fall of Entire Industries
	5.7 Company Insights: From Large to Small and from Old to Young
		5.7.1 The 25 Largest and Smallest Enterprises: The Increasing Strength of Large Companies
		5.7.2 The 25 Oldest and Youngest Enterprises: Spanning 289 and 349 Years
	5.8 Family-Owned Enterprises: Gaining Importance Among the Largest Enterprises
	5.9 Reappearers and New Joiners: Nearly a Quarter Remains Among the 250 Largest Enterprises
	5.10 Summary: Despite Massive Industrial Changes Several Enterprises Remain One of the 250 Largest Enterprises over 60 Years
6 Long-term Analysis I: The 250 Largest Enterprises of 1958
	6.1 Overview of the Enterprises’ Developments from 1958 to 2018
		6.1.1 Survival and Downfall: Failure is the Normal
		6.1.2 Age: Get Old to Become Older
		6.1.3 Size: Liability of Relative Smallness
		6.1.4 Ownership Continuity and Discontinuity: Continuity as an Exception
		6.1.5 Industry: A Company’s Destiny
		6.1.6 Growth, Stagnation and Decline: The Broad Range to Survive
		6.1.7 Family-Owned Enterprises: Applied Long-Term Orientation
		6.1.8 Reappearers and Additional Survivors: The Big Difference in Development
	6.2 Patterns of the Enterprises’ Developments to 2018
7 Long-term Analysis II: The 250 Largest Enterprises of 2018
	7.1 Overview of the Enterprises’ Developments back to 1958
		7.1.1 New Joiners & Reappearers: Two Worlds Collide
		7.1.2 Age: The Two Exceptions of an Average Age of a Hundred Years
		7.1.3 Size: The Extraordinary Case of the Reappearers
		7.1.4 Ownership Continuity and Discontinuity: Family Firms’ Long-Term Orientation
		7.1.5 Growth: Accelerated to Become One of the Largest Enterprises of 2018
		7.1.6 Family-Owned Enterprises: Pass the Long-Term Orientation
	7.2 Patterns of the Enterprises’ Developments to 2018
8 Propositions for the Future Development of Enterprises
	8.1 Overarching Patterns: Downfall is the Average Long-Term Development
	8.2 Practical Implications: Choose Wisely
9 Conclusion
	9.1 Results on the Research Question
	9.2 Future Research
	9.3 Concluding Summary
References