IMD and Unich Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Business Alfredo De Massis has been named first worldwide for family business research in an annual assessment by Texas State University.
Published in December 2025, the Texas State University Family Business Research Productivity Ranking provides insight into the universities and scholars at the forefront of family business research.
“Being ranked #1 for the third consecutive year is an honor, and I’m very thankful. What matters most to me is that my work helps family enterprises and their professionals to navigate succession, governance, professionalization, and renewal in ways that protect both business performance and family relationships,” De Massis said.
“But research is a team effort, and this reflects the energy and generosity of my donor, colleagues, co-authors, owners, executives, students, and the wider family business and family office community. I’m grateful and inspired to keep pushing forward with ideas and reliable knowledge that can support family firms and family offices across generations.”
Rankings are based on the number of articles published during the most recent five-year period in the top three academic journals that exclusively publish family business research, which are:
- Family Business Review (FBR; Five-Year Impact Factor: 8.8)
- Journal of Family Business Strategy (JFBS; Five-Year Impact Factor: 7.8)
- Journal of Family Business Management (JFBM; Five-Year Impact Factor: 3.7)
De Massis is an award-winning expert in the management and governance of family enterprises. His research examines the key factors that contribute to the long-term success and sustainability of these businesses across generations and explores how family business leaders balance economic and non-economic goals while managing the paradox between tradition and innovation. It has been cited over 30,000 times and is regularly published in leading academic and practitioner journals.
In July 2025, he received the prestigious Lifetime Influence & Impact Award from the Family Enterprise Research Academy (FERC) for the strong impact and influence of his advisory, research, and teaching activities in the space of family business and family offices. In February 2022, he was included in Family Capital’s 100 Family Business Influencers list for his thought leadership in the family business field. In 2020, he was ranked as the most influential and productive author of the decade in the family business research field in a bibliometric study published in the European Journal of Family Business, and in 2015, Family Capital named him as one of the world’s 25 star family business professors.
