Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues

Family businesses are identified in many instances as small-scale entities. However, among family businesse, there are many huge corporations, and many of the world’s best-known brands are classified as being family orientated. They generate large revenues, which play a very important role in the global economy. In Poland, several examples of well-known brands belonging to families can be found, such as Mokate, Comarch and Farmacol. The aim of the article is to present selected large Polish family businesses against the background of some of the largest family businesses globally and to determine the difference between them. The research followed an empirical approach and is based on the analysis of secondary data sources, such as Ernst & Young Family Business Yearbook report series from 2015-2017, the Global Family Business Index ranking, and studies on Polish family businesses. The analyses confirmed that many of the global largest enterprises are indeed family businesses. The importance of family businesses in the economy is evident by the fact that in 2015, enterprises from the Global Family Business Index generated revenues higher than the GDP of most countries in the world. None of the large Polish family businesses have yet found their place in the analysed ranking, but also, in Poland, family businesses play a significant role, and some of them generate revenues of several billion dollars. Familism does not prevent enterprises from achieving a significant position in the market the largest family businesses in the world play such a strong role that their success or failure may affect the condition of the entire economy. Polish family businesses are not yet included in this group, but they are constantly growing. It can, therefore, be anticipated that in a few years, Polish family businesses will have a good representation in the Global Family Business Index and will help to ensure sustainable development of the Polish economy.