Advancing Foundation Ownership

This five-year research project aims to advance understanding of enterprise foundations—
foundations that own business companies—and their role in fostering responsible capitalism.
While enterprise foundations are a prominent feature in parts of Europe, particularly
Scandinavia, they remain little known in much of the world and are understudied in the
broader corporate governance literature.
The project will explore eight interconnected themes: (1) drivers of business performance in
foundation-owned firms; (2) enterprise foundations and innovation; (3) the diversity of
foundation ownership and governance models; (4) the law and economics of enterprise
foundations; (5) the alignment between foundation ownership and corporate purpose; (6)
active ownership practices; (7) societal impact through philanthropic and business activities;
and (8) integration of these insights into the evolving discourse on sustainable corporate
governance