The role of the Steinbeis headquarters is to promote and facilitate the ongoing development of the Steinbeis Network. It does this by assuming overall responsibility for the centralized framework under which each Steinbeis enterprise operates on a decentralized basis, managed by approximately 1,000 Steinbeis enterprise directors. The Steinbeis Board of Directors chairs the non-profit Steinbeis Foundation (StW), which forms the umbrella and conceptual framework of the Steinbeis Network. Several managing directors run Steinbeis GmbH & Co. KG für Technologietransfer (StC), which forms the framework for entrepreneurial knowledge and technology transfer.