Research Centre at JU Celebrates 20 Years of Family Business Scholarship
Bengt Liljedahl, founder and chairman of Liljedahl Group, with his daughter Anna Liljedahl, CEO of Liljedahl Group, and Kajsa Haag, Associate Professor of Business Administration at Jönköping International Business School.
Research and collaboration in the field of family business were in focus as the Centre for Family Entrepreneurship and Ownership (CeFEO) celebrated its 20th anniversary at Werket on 1 October. Among the more than 140 attendees were researchers, entrepreneurs, and community representatives.
“The 20th anniversary is a moment to honour the past, reflect on the present, and lay the foundation for the future,” said Massimo Baù, Director of CeFEO, Professor of Business Administration at Jönköping International Business School (JIBS), and one of the event’s project leaders.
CeFEO is a research centre at Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University. Since its founding in 2005, it has grown into an internationally leading environment for research, education, and collaboration around family entrepreneurship and ownership.
The purpose of the anniversary event was to highlight the role of family businesses in society—how heritage and tradition can serve as a driving force for future entrepreneurship—and to create a meeting place for dialogue between academia, business, and the public.
Family business: As relevant today as ever
Christina Hamrin, Chair of the Hamrin Foundation, with Leif Melin, who co-founded CeFEO in 2005.
CeFEO’s establishment 20 years ago was made possible largely thanks to the support of the Hamrin Foundation, which has remained a key partner in the centre’s development.
Leif Melin, Professor Emeritus at JIBS and founder of CeFEO, recalls the early days:
“CeFEO came into being thanks to the initiative of the Hamrin Foundation, which began funding research on family business at JIBS 20 years ago. Since then, we’ve had a close and appreciated ongoing dialogue about how to collaborate, which has been incredibly important,” said Melin.
Kajsa Haag, Massimo Baù, and Linnea Lind, all of whom were involved in organizing CeFEO’s 20th anniversary celebration.
Kajsa Haag, Associate Professor of Business Administration at JIBS, has also been involved since the beginning:
“We were early adopters of family business research when it was still a niche topic in academia. It’s surprising, considering family businesses have always been the most common form of enterprise. It’s high time more people recognize their societal importance, especially in smaller communities. Thanks to early support from the school and external funders, we’ve built a leading centre that has become a knowledge hub many want to join or collaborate with,” she said.
Jan Ryde, CEO of Hästens, was one of the speakers who shared his extensive experience in family business.
Among the guest speakers were notable figures such as Bengt Liljedahl (founder of Liljedahl Group), Olle Nyman (Chief Legal Officer at the Astrid Lindgren Group and Astrid Lindgren’s grandson), Anton Magnusson (CEO of Hestra Gloves), and Jan Ryde (CEO of Hästens).
To foster a dynamic format, each speaker was paired with a CeFEO researcher, creating a conversational and interview-style setup rather than traditional presentations.
Jan Ryde represents the fifth generation of his family to lead Hästens, a company founded in 1852. He began as an apprentice, learning every step of the handmade bed-making process.
“In my ten minutes on stage today, I want to give as much as I can to the audience—sharing my experiences and support,” said Jan Ryde.
New challenges for family business owners
Anna Gillek, Regional Director for Jönköping County at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, was one of the attendees who came to celebrate family entrepreneurship.
Current research shows that family businesses are the most common form of enterprise in Sweden, accounting for around half of all companies.
Anna Gillek, Regional Director for Jönköping County at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, was among the attendees celebrating family entrepreneurship. She noted that the number of family businesses today is at least as high as it was 20 years ago.
“What’s changed is society itself. It’s more complex today for family members to enter and take over a family business. New demands are placed on second or third-generation successors. That’s why we need to spread the knowledge that exists in this field,” she said.
Students also participated in the event. Anton Toll, in his final semester of the Sustainable Enterprise Development program at JIBS, looked forward to the discussions:
“I’m especially interested in sustainability issues, so I’m excited to hear how small business owners view sustainability,” he said.
The celebration also marked the launch of the research project Ägarlyftet—a three-year initiative aimed at strengthening ownership competence among business owners in the region through research-based knowledge.
