English summary: There is only limited academic attention paid to the topic of Private Equity Investments in Family Businesses although the topic is becoming increasingly relevant for both entity types. In order to advance the field, this study focuses on the organizational metamorphosis of Family Businesses as a response to a Private Equity investment. In specific, changes in performance and its potential determinants were researched by means of eight case studies. The results indicate a neutral to beneficial performance ...
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English summary: There is only limited academic attention paid to the topic of Private Equity Investments in Family Businesses although the topic is becoming increasingly relevant for both entity types. In order to advance the field, this study focuses on the organizational metamorphosis of Family Businesses as a response to a Private Equity investment. In specific, changes in performance and its potential determinants were researched by means of eight case studies. The results indicate a neutral to beneficial performance development when Private Equity companies acquired a majority stake and a neutral development in case of a minority investment. Analyses further revealed that the positive performance improvement correlated with an organizational context that nurtured higher levels of individual discipline and stretch as well as organizational values that became aligned with market imperatives. German description: Investitionen von Private-Equity-Firmen in Familienunternehmen werden fur beide Parteien zunehmend relevanter. Um diesem Gebiet Rechnung zu tragen, wurde die Veranderung der wirtschaftlichen Leistungsfahigkeit von Familienunternehmen im Zuge einer Private Equity Investition in acht Fallstudien untersucht. Die Resultate zeigen eine neutrale bis positive Veranderung der Leistungsfahigkeit wenn Private-Equity-Hauser eine Mehrheitsbeteiligung in Familienunternehmen erwerben. Bei Minderheitsbeteiligungen konnte keine weitreichende Veranderung festgestellt werden. Weiterhin zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass die untersuchten Mehrheitsbeteiligungen einen Kontext entwickeln, welcher das individuelle Leistungsverhalten des Managements zu einem hoheren Masse fordert. Dies beruht vor allem darauf, dass sich jene Firmen zunehmend Umwelt- und Marktbedingungen offnen und neue Operationsweisen adaptieren.
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