Many companies are family businesses and would like to remain so, as it avoids conflict of interest with outside shareholders. Control of large publicly-quoted companies may still be in family hands, and hostile takeovers are often regarded as a foreign concept. This tends to exclude investors from abroad and generates a more patriarchal approach than in a company with non-family management. However, as the post-war generation of entrepreneurs retires, there are sometimes problems of succession. Company hierarchy in Germany tends to be vertically structured, with closely defined areas of responsibility.
Management style has a reputation for being relatively risk-averse.