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This cumulative dissertation covers four papers on the management and governance of family firms. The first paper provides a systematic review of the literature on family-related determinants of the board of directors’ tasks, composition and processes in family firms. The review clusters and synthesizes the literature into six major determinants, details the methods used, and provides recommendations for future research in the field. The second paper develops a contingency approach to board task needs of family firms. The paper identifies five contingency factors and demonstrates how board task needs typically evolve over the ownership stages of family businesses. The third paper constitutes a qualitative empirical study on the role of board control in controlling owner family businesses. Based on a multiple case study approach, the study shows that controlling owners frequently use board control as a self-governing mechanism to mitigate self-control problems. Additionally, the study provides insights on favorable board processes and board composition in the controlling owner setting. Overall, the dissertation underlines the importance of factoring in the influence of family firm heterogeneity on the board of directors. The fourth paper concludes the dissertation with a teaching case study on a small family firm that is exposed to the threat of a disruptive innovation in its industry.:1 Introduction 1.1 Research Objective 1.2 Summary of the Research Papers 1.3 References 2 Determinants of Boards in Family Firms: A Systematic Literature Review 2.1 Abstract 2.2 Introduction 2.3 Boards of Directors in Family Firms 2.4 Research Method 2.5 Findings on Family-Related Determinants 2.6 Synthesis of Results 2.7 Future Research 2.8 Conclusion 2.9 Appendix 2.10 References 3 The Board of Directors in Family Firms: One Size Fits Forever? 3.1 Abstract 3.2 Introduction 3.3 Board Tasks in Family Firms 3.4 Development of a Conceptual Model 3.5 Limitations of the Model 3.6 Conclusion 3.7 References 4 Self-Control Through Board Control: Formalized Governance in Controlling Owner Family Businesses 4.1 Abstract 4.2 Introduction 4.3 Theoretical Foundations 4.4 Research Method 4.5 Findings 4.6 Discussion 4.7 Conclusion 4.8 References 5 Teaching Case Study ATB: Digital Disruption in the Manufacturing Industry 5.1 Abstract 5.2 Case Manuscript 5.3 Teaching Note 5.4 References 6 Conclusion 6.1 Contribution of the Dissertation 6.2 Limitations and Avenues for Future Research 6.3 References

Diese Dissertation besteht aus drei unabhängigen Artikeln in dem Forschungsfeld der Informationsökonomik. Ein wiederkehrendes Motiv in allen drei Artikeln ist die ambivalente Rolle von privater Information. In Kontrast zur klassischen Entscheidungstheorie, in der mehr Informationen Individuen niemals schlechter stellt, analysiere ich drei verschiedene Umgebungen, in denen mehr Konsumenteninformation die Konsumentenrente verringern kann. / This dissertation comprises three independent chapters in the field of information economics. The recurrent theme of all three chapters is the ambiguous role of information: While in standard decision theory additional information enables individuals to weakly increase utility through making better choices, I analyze three di erent environments in which more information to consumers may actually be detrimental to consumer utility.