Family businesses are the most prevalent form of business around the world. Published annually, the Texas State University Family Business Research Productivity Ranking provides insight into the universities and scholars at the forefront of family business research.
Rankings are based on the collective number of articles published during the most recent five-year period (2020-2024) in the top three academic journals dedicated to exclusively publishing family business research. These journals, which serve as the field's reference point, are listed below in order of their most recent (2024) five-year impact factor. The university results are not adjusted for faculty size. For the university rankings, only one affiliation per article is counted. Therefore, an article by two or more authors from the same university is counted only once. Editorials and perspectives are not included.
The number of family business articles produced in these journals is only one factor of the productivity or quality of their family business research programs. Therefore, these rankings should not be used as the sole criteria for evaluating the many contributions of these programs and individuals.
- Family Business Review (FBR; 5-Year Impact Factor: 8.8)
- Journal of Family Business Strategy (JFBS; 5-Year Impact Factor: 7.8)
- Journal of Family Business Management (JFBM; 5-Year Impact Factor: 3.7)
| RANK | UNIVERSITY | FBR | JFBS | JFBM | TOTAL | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management | 4 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 120.6 |
| 2 | Jönköping University | 5 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 106 |
| 3 | Mississippi State University | 8 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 104.9 |
| 4 | Free University of Bozen-Bolzano | 5 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 102.3 |
| 5 | HEC Montréal | 0 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 73.9 |
| 6 | Hasselt University | 2 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 67.7 |
| 7 | Arizona State University | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 65.4 |
| 7 | University of Bern | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 65.4 |
| 9 | IPAG Business School | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 60.5 |
| 10 | Bocconi University | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 52.5 |
| 11 | University of Bergamo | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 49.8 |
| 12 | Concordia University | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 48.8 |
| 12 | University of Naples Federico II | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 48.8 |
| 14 | The University of Mississippi | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 42 |
| 15 | Lancaster University | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 41 |
| 16 | American University of Sharjah | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 39.6 |
| 17 | University of Innsbruck | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 37.9 |
| 18 | Johannes Kepler University Linz | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 37.5 |
| 19 | Babson College | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 35.2 |
| 19 | University of Ottawa | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 35.2 |
| 21 | LIUC – Carlo Cattaneo University | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 34.9 |
| 22 | Bielefeld University | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 33.2 |
| 22 | Pablo de Olavide University | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 33.2 |
| 22 | Politecnico di Milano | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 33.2 |
| 22 | The University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 33.2 |
| 26 | Prague University of Economics and Business | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 32.4 |
| 27 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 32.3 |
| 27 | University of Siegen | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 32.3 |
| 29 | Kennesaw State University | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 31.8 |
| 30 | Witten/Herdecke University | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 31.2 |
| 31 | University of North Texas | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 30.1 |
| 32 | University of Louisville | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 29.1 |
| 33 | The University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 27.1 |
| 34 | University of Rome Tor Vergata | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 26.7 |
| 35 | Florida Atlantic University | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 26.4 |
| 35 | Oklahoma State University | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 26.4 |
| 35 | University of Central Florida | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 26.4 |
| 38 | Macquarie University | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25.4 |
| 38 | Northeastern University | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25.4 |
| 40 | IE University | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 24.4 |
| 40 | Loughborough University | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 24.4 |
| 40 | Technical University of Munich | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 24.4 |
| 40 | Zhejiang University | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 24.4 |
| 44 | LUT University | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 23.4 |
| 44 | Trier University | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 23.4 |
| 44 | Universidad Carlos III de Madrid | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 23.4 |
| 44 | University of South Alabama | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 23.4 |
| 44 | University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 23.4 |
| 49 | La Trobe University | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 22.2 |
| 49 | South East European University | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 22.2 |
| 49 | Sultan Qaboos University | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 22.2 |
Updated December 18, 2025