The Center of Family Enterprise Research (COFER) helps to fill an important need in our society. Family businesses represent the vast majority of both new ventures and existing enterprises and contribute substantially to the U.S. economy. Furthermore, family businesses are not necessarily small; many very large companies such as Wal-Mart, Cargill, Johnson & Johnson, and Ford Motor are family businesses. However, the longevity of family businesses across generations is tenuous and many do not survive beyond the tenure of the founder.