FERC 2025: Celebrating 20 Years of Family Enterprise Scholarship at DCU

Together with our partners at Ulster University, we were honoured to co-host the 20th Annual Family Enterprise Research Conference (FERC) at Dublin City University from 21st–23rd July 2025. This was the first time that the FERC conference was hosted outside of the US. Marking two decades of global collaboration and scholarly impact, FERC 2025 brought together an exceptional community of researchers committed to advancing knowledge in the family business field and 120 delegates from 28 different countries attended the events across the 3 days.

This year’s conference was attended by many of the most distinguished researchers in family enterprise research, including Professor Justin B. Craig—Distinguished Professor of Family Enterprise at Tec de Monterrey, Adjunct Professor at both the Kellogg Sales Institute at Northwestern University and Bond University in Australia—Professor Donald Neubaum from Florida Atlantic University, and Professor Pramodita (Dita) Sharma from the Grossman School of Business at the University of Vermont and Professor Roy Suddaby, Professor and Winspear Chair. Their contributions, alongside those of many emerging scholars, sparked lively discussion and enriched the academic programme.

A highlight of the conference was the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Alfredo De Massis, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Business at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, IMD and Lancaster University honouring his outstanding global contribution to the field.

Delegates also had the opportunity to experience Dublin’s vibrant culture through a carefully curated social programme, including a visit to the Illusion Museum on Day 1, an unforgettable Riverdance performance on Day 2, and a tour of the Guinness Storehouse on Day 3.

FERC remains a vital forum for building usable knowledge, fostering collaboration between scholars and practitioners, and nurturing the next generation of family business researchers—ultimately driving research that delivers meaningful societal impact.