A. This is the fourth generation. Since the late 1800s, the family has owned the company, and it will remain for our children (Family firm 6, CEO)

A. Strong identification as a family-owned real estate company

A. We’ve been offered and courted by all these companies that have grown rapidly … they even wanted to attend our board meetings. But we’ve kept them at a distance the whole time, and I’m very glad about that today” (Family firm 4, CEO)

B. The Fredrikson family, who is the majority owner of the company, have chosen to be involved in the entire value chain, even though the focus is on residential property management, around 70%, and commercial properties, such as offices, hotels, community properties, and grocery stores, around 30%” (Family firm 18, CEO)

B. Long-term investments in different kinds of properties

B. We [the family business] have accumulated a significant amount of rentable space, totaling 120,000 square meters, with a mix of commercial and residential properties” (Family firm 12, CEO)

C. We absolutely don’t want to lose the agility to act quickly when an opportunity arises and close the deal. That’s what has characterized the entire company [as a family firm]. It’s how Bengtsson’s [the founding family] grew from hauling waste in the countryside to founding Transport and Investment Assets Aktiebolag (TIAB) and their network (Family firm 9, CEO)

C. The importance of flexibility and industry networking

C. We conduct nearly all of our business through our extensive network, where we keep our ear closest to the ground (Family firm 2, CEO)

D. We know the local businesses and work closely with the municipalities, especially when it comes to investments” (Family firm 11, CEO statement in annual report)

D. The importance of investments through networking with the local municipality

D. We benefit from winning land allocation competitions and early-stage investments, and from having a diversified focus, namely in both commercial and residential development (Family firm 18, CEO)

E. From a purely strategic standpoint, we have scaled back in the last two years up until this past summer. We almost exclusively chose to invest in project opportunities, that is, in properties with clear future prospects for residential development (Family firm 5, CFO)

E. Cautious and incremental development in uncertain times

E. We have also bought much simpler houses … almost abandoned, with virtually everything gone except the outer walls. These were previously inhabited by cultural figures or collectives of unconventional individuals, which we are now redeveloping (Family firm 1, BAM)

F. Because it is family-owned, there is naturally a strong commitment within the boardroom. I believe that companies with more anonymous ownership instead have a higher degree of managerial control (Family firm 3, CFO)

F. Bundling through personal engagement

F. If the company were not family-owned, it would probably have been owned by a bunch of impersonal funds and have a lot of foreign ownership, which would likely have resulted in more managerial control (Family firm 11, Vice CEO)

G. As a CEO, you sometimes want a bit of freedom, and it’s not always certain that you get that in the same way when you are so closely connected and have differing opinions (Family firm 3, CEO)

G. Personal closeness leads to tough management discussions

G. We never disagree, but sometimes there are tough discussions, and that’s how it should be. It becomes very personal when it’s a family business, but I think that’s a spice in the whole thing (Family firm 7, CEO)

H. We are in the process of improving all our parking areas. These are small deals, but we focus a lot on them as well (Family firm 2, CEO)

H. Family business capability improvements by incremental steps

H. It suits these industrial buildings quite well, as they can be subdivided. I subdivided our latest acquisition and brought in four additional tenants, which has resulted in a stable cash flow (Family firm 6, CEO)

I. Our staff meets customers every day. We have countless customer meetings in various forms each day, and we receive many ideas and suggestions from them (Family firm 11, Vice CEO)

I. Competence development by close customer relationships

I. Robert and Martin [family members] and the rest of us who work with rentals are very important. There are a lot of networking meetings and we get kickbacks and awareness from our tenants (Family firm 5, CFO)

J. But we [the owning family] still believe that these projects will eventually get started. The question is just when … It’s really just a matter of waiting for the market to turn a bit (Family firm 15, BAM)

J. Mobilized but cautious family business in uncertain times

J. As things stand now, we won’t be taking any major actions. But we will take on some smaller projects to keep ourselves afloat until the larger ones get going.” (Family firm 2, CEO)

K. We [the owning family] made a strategic decision not to further expand within mixed-use properties, including offices and residential spaces in central locations, but instead to focus on industrial properties. This allows us to diversify risk and capitalize on new business opportunities (Family firm 12, CEO)

K. Risk minimization through diversified tenants

K. We see risk minimization in having a wide variety of tenants [residential and commercial properties] and not being dependent on any single tenant (Family firm 3, CFO)

L. The management team and board [which includes the owning family] are open to all questions. There is no hierarchy; it’s a very flat, decisive, and straightforward organization (Family firm 18, CEO)

L. Flat and entrepreneurial, but final decision-making centralized

L. Bo (the founder) has been retired for a long time. He isn’t involved in the day-to-day operations, but all major decisions concerning the board go through him. The sons stop by the kitchen table in his home and the matters are discussed before any decisions are made (Family firm 5, CFO)

M. Westborg has had a long-standing relationship with our family, going all the way back to my grandfather. I have played there myself, and both my father and I have served as the club’s chairmen. Naturally, we are very strongly connected to it. It is important for us to support the local community (Family firm 12, CEO)

M. Trust-building through social responsibility in the local community

M. We participate in collaboration with four aid organizations and the City of Gothenburg on how we can jointly address the housing needs of people who, for various reasons, are excluded from the regular housing market” (Family firm 2, CEO statement in annual report)