Since its creation in 1992, the Instituto de la Empresa Familiar (IEF) has become a prestigious independent forum for debate in the sphere of Spanish civil society. It has advocated the creation in Spain of a tax framework that favours the growth and transfer of family businesses. It has been a pioneer in the links between business and university, through the start-up of a network of chairs in family business, a unique experience internationally. Together with the IEF’s study service, the network of chairs has contributed to improving knowledge regarding the reality of this type of business in Spain. In this context, the Instituto de la Empresa Familiar decided to foster a study that would enable us to approach more directly the reality of family businesses in Spain in general and in each of the Autonomous Communities in particular.
This project had a dual focus. First, to establish a regular system for calculating the importance of the family business in the principal macroeconomic variables nationally and in each of the Autonomous Communities. And, second, complementary to the first, to identify the differentiating characteristics of family businesses, extending the knowledge of business and family management.
