The family can be the greatest resource or the greatest point of weakness for family businesses. In recent years, business-owning families have increasingly turned to “family governance” to ensure it is the former rather than the latter that applies to their family. For example, the number of families using a family constitution to cover key aspect of how to organise family and business has risen by 40% since the last PwC/INTES survey in 2011. This is the first study to look at the impact of family governance mechanisms on family cohesion and business performance. It reveals that a professional, responsible organisation of the business-owning family has a positive impact on the family’s adaptability and openness to change. The family and the business benefit equally. > Deutsche Version