WIFU Foundation
The WIFU Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in Witten, Germany. It supports research, teaching, and knowledge transfer in the field of family entrepreneurship. Its activities include science communication on the characteristics of family businesses and business families, as well as fundraising to support these initiatives.
History
The WIFU foundation was established in September 2009 by to provide long-term support for academic research and teaching in the field of family enterprises. It aimed to fund scholarships, research projects, and professorships that would generate practical insights for business families and their firms.Its primary focus has been the funding of the Witten Institute for Family Business at Witten/Herdecke University.
Since 2020, the foundation has broadened its activities to support additional academic institutions and projects, including WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht,, and the Department of Family Business at . During its first fifteen years, it allocated approximately €25 million to research, teaching, and academic events, including the endowment of five professorships and the organisation of numerous events for researchers and practitioners.
Goals and Activities
The WIFU Foundation is committed to strengthening the long-term viability of family businesses. Its activities are centred on three main areas: research, teaching, and practical transfer.- Research: The foundation funds transdisciplinary research on challenges faced by family enterprises and business families, including digitalisation, succession, crisis and conflict management, governance, shareholder competence, and family strategy. It supports professorships, research staff, doctoral and postdoctoral scholarships, and awards research prizes at international conferences including IFERA, EIASM, and EURAM.
- Teaching: The foundation promotes academic education for family business leaders and successors. It finances professorships and chairs in disciplines such as business administration, law, history, anthropology, and sociology.
- Knowledge Transfer and Network Building: The foundation organises events that bring together academics and practitioners, including the WIFU Family Business Forum, the WIFU Working Groups, the WIFU Online Forum and the Witten Congress for Family Businesses, the latter being the largest and oldest congress of its kind in Europe. Knowledge transfer is further supported through multilingual open-access resources, including practical guides, studies, videos, podcasts and the series, which are available through its . It also maintains an active presence on social media platforms including LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube to reach a broader audience of family business stakeholders, and the interested public.