From left Professor Elmarie Venter, Dr Welcome Kupanga and Prof Shelley Farrington
The index, available at https://fbdashboard.org/ highlights leading scholars and institutions making significant contributions to family business research over a rolling 3-year window.
Family business research published between 2023 and 2025 was evaluated, drawing on 2231 peer-reviewed articles and 4906 researchers worldwide.
Prof Venter was ranked at number 110, Dr Kupanga at 123 and Prof Farrington at 125 globally, in addition to Nelson Mandela University ranked 112 out of 2345 universities worldwide. These researchers all form part of Mandela University's Family Business Unit located in the Department of Business Management.
The analysis is based on publications in peer-reviewed journals ranked in the Academic Journal Guide (AJG/CABS) 2024, with publication data sourced from OpenAlex. The Index used fractional, AJG-weighted counting to provide a comparative assessment of scholarly contributions to the field.
Their recognition emphasises the quality, consistency and international contribution of family business research undertaken at the University, as well as the strength of the Family Business Unit as a research community, committed to advancing knowledge on family businesses, entrepreneurship, sustainability, values and transgenerational value creation, said Business Management lecturer Sumaiya Sidat.
The department also acknowledges the colleagues, co-authors, research collaborators, students and family businesses whose contributions continue to make this research possible.
