Perheyritykset kansantalouden resurssina : keskisuurten ja suurten yritysten omistajuus, toiminnan laajuus ja kannattavuus Suomessa 2000-2005

The first main goal of the research is family business contribution analysis, anexamination of the economic effect of family businesses in Finland. Another topic ofinterest is the relationship between the type of ownership and financial performance ofthe firm, a comparison analysis of profitability between family and non-familybusinesses.On a world-wide basis, the contribution of family businesses to nationaleconomies is considerable. However, the exact extent of the impact of familybusinesses has remained unknown. One reason for this problem is the fact that thereare neither official statistics nor representative performance data available of familybusinesses at the national economic level. The data for this research was collected incooperation with Statistics Finland and it covers the years 2000-2005. First all potentialmiddle- and large-sized family businesses were screened from the Annual Statistics ofthe Finnish Business Register. Family ownership was identified by phone interviewsamong the population of pre-screened potential family firms. The modified registerstatistics data was finally merged with official income statement and balance sheetstatistics for the same firms.Results of the study show that in Finland 46 % of middle-sized companies and 30% of large-sized companies are family businesses. Family firms are also in Finlandsmaller by size than non-family firms. For example, of the 150 biggest Finnishbusinesses, 20 % are family businesses. Almost all family businesses operate inmanufacturing, construction, trade, transportation and business services. In theseindustries, middle-sized family businesses contributed 41 % and large-sized familybusinesses 16 % to the total annual net sales of the corresponding size group. Thepersonnel figures were 49 % and 22 % respectively. Results linked with earlierinformation of the effect of small-sized family firms indicate that family businesses as atotal contribute some 21–25 % to total production and 26–30 % to employment inFinland.According to the family capital model and based on multiple regressionanalysis, the first generation family businesses were slightly more profitable measuredby return on investment than other businesses including family firms that havecompleted generation transfer. In addition, family businesses in focused size groupsseem to be able to combine profitability with high employment rates. This finding isthe main result of the study.