The Secrets of German Family Businesses: From Unsung Heroes to World Market Leaders - Rilegato

Rittmann, Uwe

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 3791391909 ISBN 13: 9783791391908

Casa editrice: Prestel Publishing, 2026

Riassunto

Discover what German family businesses sets apart from other firms all over the world and how tradition and innovation coexist in these most enduring companies. This comprehensive volume reveals the fascinating secrets behind German family businesses and profiles fifty family-owned enterprises - the rising stars, the legacy keepers, the world market leaders, the brands, and the 'hidden champions'.

In an era of volatility and disruption, German family businesses stand out as models of endurance, serving as the country's largest employers and taxpayers while driving sustained economic growth and maintaining reputations for technical excellence and reliability across international markets. Through detailed company profiles and expert essays, this book examines the strategic principles underlying their remarkable success, featuring brands like Melitta, Falke and Otto alongside lesser-known industrial champions. Each profile includes archival and contemporary photography, key statistics, and narratives exploring how these firms balance tradition with innovation. Readers discover Ritter Sports' journey from a 1912 chocolate square invention to today's climate-neutral production using sustainably sourced cocoa, Henkel's 150-year evolution from laundry detergent startup to global consumer goods leader, and dozens of similar stories illuminating how family ownership drives competitive advantages in quality, sustainability, and strategic patience. Leading scholars and industry practitioners contribute analytical essays on success factors at both ownership and operational levels, including governance structures, succession planning, and the interplay between entrepreneurial vision and generational continuity. For business leaders navigating succession, investors seeking stable partnerships, consultants advising family firms, and academics studying organizational resilience, this work offers rare access to the operating principles and cultural DNA that make these enterprises exceptionally durable.

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Informazioni sugli autori

Professionally, Uwe Rittmann has one great passion: family businesses and entrepreneurial families. As Head of the Family Business and SMEs at PwC Germany, he has a broad and in-depth overview of the German family-business landscape. After many years with a medium-sized auditing and consultancy firm, he joined PwC as a partner in 2011. For more than 30 years he has successfully advised both international, publicly listed family firms and privately owned mid-sized companies, and he has served for many years on the advisory boards of several family businesses.

Tobias Rappers is the founder and Managing Director of Maschinenraum GmbH, a platform that brings together almost 80 German family businesses to provide support in all key areas of transformation. A strategy consultant and digital expert, he has wide-ranging expertise in designing and implementing transformation processes. He particularly values the DNA of the German SME sector, shaped by courage, trust and long-term thinking. Rappers studied at the WFI School of Management, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Stellenbosch University in South Africa and the Indian Institute of Management. Before founding Maschinenraum, he worked as a consultant at Roland Berger.

Über zwei Jahrzehnte verantwortete Olaf Salié als Chefredakteur die Marke „Deutsche Standards“, zuletzt unter dem Dach der ZEIT Verlagsgruppe. Seit 2025 ist er Herausgeber der Reihe „ABOUT Germany“ im Prestel Verlag, wo auch seine Bücher „CHANSON“ und „Traumfabriken“ erschienen sind. Olaf Salié gilt als kreativer Ideengeber und gut vernetzter Projektentwickler für analoge und digitale Medien. Für seinen langjährigen Herausgeber Dr. Florian Langenscheidt hat er u. a. das „Lexikon der deutschen Familienunternehmen“ konzipiert. Neben Wirtschaftsthemen liegt ein besonderer Schwerpunkt seiner Arbeit auf dem Thema „Manufakturen“. Der Publizist lebt gemeinsam mit Mann und Hund in Berlin.

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: Prestel Publishing
• Data di pubblicazione: 2026
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 3791391909
• ISBN 13: 9783791391908
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 304
• Redattore: Rappers Tobias
• Contatto del produttore: Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe GmbH; produktsicherheit@penguinrandomhouse.de; ; Neumarkter Straße 28; München; 81673; Germania