Advisory boards in Germany's medium-sized enterprises: An empirical comparison of family businesses and non-family businesses

The current discussion about corporate governance also addresses the differences between medium-sized family businesses and non-family businesses. However, empirical comparison of the structure and the function of advisory boards in both business types has never been in the focus of research. Our study aims to fill this knowledge gap. We focus our research on the type of installation of advisory boards, their composition, tasks and orientation. Regarding these four criteria, we have found out that there are significant differences between medium-sized family businesses and non-family businesses. Our research thus contributes to the discussion about whether, in practice, there are differences between both business types in corporate governance.