Strong family coalitions, religious leaders and CEOs - What role does religion play in the management of family businesses?
Prof. Dr. David Bendig, Dr. Fabian Ernst of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Dr. Lea Püchel of the chair for Digital Innovation and the Public Sector, have published their article "Religion in Family Firms: A Socioemotional Wealth Perspective on Top-Level Executives with Perceived Religiosity" in the Journal of Business Ethics (VHB JQ3: B, FT 50). The influence of religion in Europe is steadily declining, while the Christian faith continues to play a significant social role in the USA. A clear sign of this is that 60% of the US population would not support an atheist presidential candidate. Furthermore, only one senator in the 117th US Congress has openly declared her non-denominationalism. Despite the essential role of religion in the USA, the faith of executives is rarely recognizable and tends to be taboo in everyday business life. This also applies to family businesses. How religiosity nevertheless finds its way into the management levels of such companies has been insufficiently researched to date. In their article, the three researchers present empirical evidence, based on comprehensive long-term data, that family businesses with strong family coalitions, as measured by family voting rights, are more likely to employ Christian board members. Furthermore, the researchers show that religious board members tend to appoint religious chief executive officers.Interestingly, the link between strong family coalitions and religious boards is less pronounced when the family business operates in industries that rely heavily on research and development. The study also suggests practical implications for diversity management.
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