The Power of Stories - Zur Funktion von Geschichten in Familienunternehmen

Abstract

In social systems stories are important for the construction and stabilization of "reality" and for the mutual affirmation of identity. Family businesses (FB) can be seen as a special kind of social systems, as they continuously have to balance the interests of the family, the business, and the shareholders. One important part of family management can be seen in developing sensitivity towards the stories that are told in the firm: do they convey centrifugal or centripetal qualities? Other functions of stories in FB can be seen in strengthening the identity of the employees, help making sense and dissolve the paradoxes, that FB often find themselves in.