MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - Large family-owned companies have created considerably more new jobs than Dax corporations in the past decade. They also hire a proportionally larger share of their new employees in Germany, while Dax corporations without a dominant family in the background are more likely to create new jobs abroad. These are the conclusions of the Institute for SME Research at the University of Mannheim in a study published on Wednesday. The client was the Family Business Foundation in Munich.

According to the study, Germany's 26 largest family businesses created 837,000 new jobs worldwide from 2011 to 2020, while the 26 Dax companies without a dominant family created a good 390,000. In Germany, the 26 Dax companies only created around 48,000 new jobs, according to the study, while the 26 largest family businesses created a good 267,000 new jobs.

The Mannheim scientists considered any company to be a "family business" that is majority-owned by the family - regardless of whether the company in question is listed on the stock exchange or managed by family members.

Accordingly, family-owned companies also include four Dax companies: Volkswagen, Beiersdorf, Henkel and Merck. The study was based on a comparison of family-owned companies with the 26 groups listed on the Dax at the end of 2020, where there are no controlling families in the background: The study authors compared the largest 26 companies in each case in terms of employment.

In the overarching evaluation, they also compared the data of the 26 Dax companies with that of the 500 largest family businesses in Germany. In absolute terms, the Schwarz Group, which owns the Lidl and Kaufland supermarket chains, came first with 190,000 new jobs. It was followed by Volkswagen with 160,000, Bosch with around 92,000 and the Aldi Group with a good 84,000. The authors have not yet compiled the figures for the Corona years 2021 and 2022.

The Mannheim-based institute presented the study for the sixth time since 2007. The foundation combined the publication with a political appeal: "The study shows that family businesses have been demonstrably better able to survive crises and keep their workforce together even in difficult times, especially in Germany," said Rainer Kirchdörfer, CEO. "That is why it is essential not to put this form of business at a disadvantage in the current tense situation."/cho/DP/zb