PD Dr. habil. Jan-Philipp Ahrens
Head of the Interdisciplinary Research Group Family Firms
Main fields of research
- Strategic, Intercultural, and International Management
- Sustainability & Sustainable Management
- Leadership
- Family Business Research
- Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management
- Crisis Management
Curriculum vitae
| 2008 | Diplom-Kaufmann, BWL mit interkultureller Qualifikation (M.Sc.in Intercultural Business Administration), University of Mannheim |
| 2010–2013 | Dr. rer. pol. (PhD in Business Administration), University of Mannheim, visiting researcher at Humbolt University Berlin and Ludwig-Maximillians-University Munich |
| 2014 | Chinese University of Hong Hong, Visiting Scholar |
| 2016–2024 | PD Dr. habil. rer. pol. (Habilitation), University of Mannheim |
| 2021 | Head of the Interdisciplinary Research Group Family Firms, University of Mannheim |
| 2022–2023 | Interim Full Professor (W3 / 2 Semesters), Chair of International Management and Social Entrepreneurship University of Passau |
| 2024 | Visiting Scholar, Stanford University |
| 2024–2025 | Interim Full Professor (W3 / 2 Semesters), Chair of Future of Work, Human Resource Management, and Organization University of Duisburg-Essen |
Prizes, awards, honors
- [36] Schulze Publication Award (2025)
- Winner publications from the 2023/
24 academic year, award honors articles that have made the greatest impact. “Your work stands out for its clarity, insight, and ability to resonate with family business owners, educators, and researchers worldwide.” - [35] Familybusiness.org (2025)
- Publication among Top 10 Most Read Articles of 2024
- [34] Journal of Small Business Management (JSBM) (2025)
- Publication ranked in Top 10 Most Influential JSBM Articles of 2024
- [33] European Academy of Management, 24th Annual Conference (2024)
- Most Innovative Article Award of the Family Business Research SIG
- [32] European Academy of Management, 24th Annual Conference (2024)
- Nomination for Best Article Award of the Family Business Research SIG
- [31] 18th European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management Workshop on Family Firm Management Research (2023), Nomination for Best Article Award
- [30] 27th Interdisciplinary Annual Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Mittelstand (2023), Nomination for Best Article Award
- [29] 27th Interdisciplinary Annual Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Mittelstand (2023), Nomination for Best Article Award II
- [28] Nomination “Student council award for good teaching, summer term 2023”, Fachschaft Philo (student council of the philosophical faculty), University of Passau
- [27] Nomination “Award for merits in internationalization 2023”, University of Passau
- [26] “Award for outstanding engagement 2023”, University of Passau
- [25] European Academy of Management, 23th Annual Conference (2023), Nomination for the Most Innovative Article Award of the Family Business Research SIG
- [24] Global Family Business Summit (2023), STEP Project Global Consortium for Family Enterprising, Nomination for the Best Paper Award
- [23] 5th International Family Business Research Forum (2022), Best Contribution to Practice Award
- [22] European Academy of Management, 20th Annual Conference (2020), Best Article of the Family Business Research SIG, Nomination for the EURAM Overall Best Paper Award
- [21] 18th Interdisciplinary European Conference on Entrepreneurship Research – IECER (2020), Best Article Award
- [20] 24th Interdisciplinary Annual Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Mittelstand (2020), Nomination for Best Article Award
- [19] Publons (Journal Review Platform) (2020), Excellent Reviewer 2020
- [18] 17th Interdisciplinary European Conference on Entrepreneurship Research – IECER (2019), Best Article Award
- [17] 23th Interdisciplinary Annual Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Mittelstand (2019), Nomination for Best Article Award
- [16] 23th Interdisciplinary Annual Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Mittelstand (2019), Nomination for Best Article Award (second article)
- [15] Academy of Management, 79th Annual Meeting (2019), Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings 2019
- [14] 4th International Family Business Research Forum (2019), Rosemont International Best Article Award
- [13] Junior Management Science (2019), Best Reviewer Award (Journal)
- [12] 9th Annual Conference of German Family Business Research Institutes (2019), Nomination for the Best Article
- [11] 22th Interdisciplinary Annual Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Mittelstand (2018), Nomination for the Best Family Firm Article
- [10] European Academy of Management, 18th Annual Conference (2018), Best Article Award of the Strategic Management SIG
- [09] 21th Interdisciplinary Annual Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Mittelstand (2017), Nomination for the Best Family Firm Article
- [08] 5tes Forum Mittelstandsforschung (2017), Best Article Award
- [07] 2nd International Family Business Research Forum (2016), Best Article Award
- [06] European Academy of Management, 16th Annual Conference (2016), Nomination for Best Article Award of the Family Business Research SIG, Honorable Mention of the Family Business Research SIG
- [05] Woven Publish Prize (2015), University of Mannheim, 2015 (award is given for publications in diversity research)
- [04] Academy of Management, 75th Annual Meeting (2015), Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings 2015
- [03] Family Firm Institute (FFI) – Global Conference (2014), FFI Best Unpublished Research Award 2014
- [02] Family Enterprise Research Conference, 10th Annual Conference (2014), Best Article Award
- [01] European Academy of Management, 13th Annual Conference (2013), Best Article Award of the Family Business Research SIG
Selected editorial activities
- Senior Associate Editor, Journal of Family Business Strategy
Selected publications
- Ahrens, J.-P., Kowalzick, M., Lauterbach, J. G. and Petriglieri, J. L. (2025). Crisis reveals character: Founder and founding family involvement during firm crises. Family Business Review, 38, 4–33.
- Beck, F., Park, K. ., Merco do Nascimento e Silva, J., Meurer, T., Bubeck, S. K., Riefolo, M., Baumgardt, J., Suwala, L. and Ahrens, J.-P. (2025). Brazilian large family firms & non-family firms: bridging regional context and top management team gender diversity. Review of Regional Research = Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, 45, 185–220.
- Welch, N., Ahrens, J.-P. and Block, J. (2025). Regional labor market integration of women and the share of women in management: are family firms different? Review of Regional Research = Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, 1–31.
- Ahrens, J. (2024). Performance : performance theory and performance concepts between achievement, profit, and sustainability. In Elgar encyclopedia of family business (S. 330–334). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Ahrens, J.-P., Onneken, F., Rottler, M., Strohmeyer, R. and Torchia, M. (2024). Gender equality in firm leadership worldwide: Where are we now and how do family and non-family firms differ? In Women in family business : New perspectives, contexts and roles (S. 21–62). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Istipliler, B., Hauser, C., Calabrò, A. and Ahrens, J.-P. (2024). Sovereignty matters! Revisiting the family influence–stakeholder orientation relationship. Journal of small business and entrepreneurship : JSBE, 1–35.
- Suwala, L., Ahrens, J.-P. and Basco, R. (2024). Family firms, hidden champions and regional development. ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, 68, 1–8.
- Zybura, J., Ahrens, J.-P., Istipliler, B., Woywode, M. and Kowalzick, M. (2024). It takes two to Tango – Conceptualizing the “succession dance” in family firms through social exchange theory. Journal of General Management.
- Ahrens, J.-P. and Hauer, A. (2023). Die 500 größten Familienunternehmen in Deutschland. In Die volkswirtschaftliche Bedeutung der Familienunternehmen (S. 37–70). München: Stiftung Familienunternehmen.
- Istipliler, B., Ahrens, J.-P., Bort, S. and Isaak, A. (2023). Is exposure to the family firm always good for the next CEO? How successor pre-succession firm experience affects post-succession performance in family firms. Journal of Business Research : JBR, 167, 1–15.
- Istipliler, B., Ahrens, J.-P., Hauer, A., Steininger, D. M. and Woywode, M. (2023). Heroes of the Green Room – How Able Successors Revitalize and Reinvent Family Firms. Journal of Small Business Management.
- Istipliler, B., Hauer, A., Keese, D., Woywode, M. and Ahrens, J.-P. (2023). Childhood exposure to family firm and transgenerational orientation: Moderated mediation of affective commitment. Journal of Small Business Management, 1–44.
- Kowalzick, M., Ahrens, J.-P., Lauterbach, J. G. and Tang, Y. (2023). Overconfident CEOs in dire straits: How incumbent and successor CEOs’ overconfidence affects firm turnaround performance. Journal of Management Studies : JMS, 1–48.