Dr. Quratul Aan at the IFERA 2026 Conference
From 9 to 12 June 2026, the annual conference of the International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA) took place in Naples, Italy. Under the theme "Legacy in Action: Mobilizing Family Capital for Enduring Impact," 322 participants from 42 countries came together to exchange cutting-edge research and ideas on family businesses.
Dr. Quratul Aan represented LEIZ and presented her paper "Survival Strategies of Long-Standing Family Enterprises". Drawing on an in-depth case study of the German paper industry, her research examined how long-standing family firms have endured across generations while many larger, publicly listed companies in the same sector have failed despite their greater scale.
But what allows a business to survive across generations? The study identified family ownership, strategic foresight, and resilience as the key factors that sustain firms in highly competitive and changing industries.
As one of the leading international conferences dedicated to family business research, IFERA provides scholars and practitioners with a forum for exchange. The participation of LEIZ under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland underscores the institute's growing visibility within the international family business research community.