Family offices manage and coordinate a family's combined wealth whilst preserving the family legacy and protecting family interests. The families behind these family offices control a significant percentage of the GDP of developed economies, with consequences for financial markets. Despite its practical and academic relevance, the literature has hardly explored the concept of family offices. This book is a first step to introduce the domain of family offices. To this end, the author conducted case studies with managers and family members of 21 single and multi-family offices. By exploring goals, control and conflicts of these family office structures, Stephan Wessel contributes to consider this family-influenced organization an essential constituent of management research and an ever more prominent actor in today's global financial markets.     Contents ·         Typology of Family Offices ·         Financial and Non-Financial Goals of Families ·         Formal and Informal Control Mechanisms ·         Interdependencies between Family Business and Family Office ·         Antecedents and Consequences of Conflict in Family Offices       Target Groups ·        Researchers and students in the field of business management with a focus on strategic management, business governance and family business research ·         Families, managers and consultants in the market for family office services     The Author Dr. Stephan Wessel wrote his dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Andreas Hack and Jun.-Prof. Dr. Carolin Decker at the Institute for Family Businesses at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar.     The Editors The series Familienunternehmen und KMU is edited by Prof. Dr. Andreas Hack, Prof. Dr. Andrea Calabrò, Prof. Dr. Hermann Frank, Prof. Franz W. Kellermanns Ph.D. and Prof. Dr. Thomas Zellweger.