Our work on ownership

We deliver independent analysis of the impact of ownership on business, society, and the environment.

Key themes:

  • Examining ownership for influence and impact
    • How owners influence their businesses
    • How these businesses in turn impact society.

Key research questions

  • How can long-term corporate commitments be governed effectively?
  • How can ownership and governance lock in corporate commitment to fulfil purpose beyond profit maximisation?
  • What role can business owners play in responding to longer-term and emerging systemic risks?
  • What is the level of continuity across owners’ platforms eg philanthropy, investments, and core business(es)?
  • How do owners secure support for these arrangements from decision-makers including board members, senior management, and other shareholders?

Research Methodologies

  • Case studies of family firms
  • Participant observation of events; analysis of documents and archives
  • Executive interviews with principals of family businesses generating $1Bn+ annual revenue
  • Surveys of public and private family businesses with the Family Business Network and B-Lab, through the 'Polaris Impact Assessment'
  • Large data set creation: 3000+ publicly listed companies, across different ownership types, analysing performance against environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measures.

Workstreams

Our work takes a multi-disciplinary perspective on: 

  • The role of ‘the responsible’ or ‘engaged’ business owner
  • Ownership and long-termism
  • Ownership and risks
  • Leadership in impact and systems change  
  • Ownership and ESG
  • Ownership and performance.

The changing nature of business is raising profound questions about the legitimacy of ownership and the obligations and responsibilities of owners. These questions are at the heart of this project.

Professor Colin Mayer CBE FBA

Peter Moores Professor of Management Studies

Special Projects

  • Women and ownership, looking at global shifts in gender roles in the context of the increasing complexity of family shareholdings and family offices, with a focus on Africa and the Middle East
    • What role do women play in shifting the direction of the family business? What evidence is there that women have differential access to pathways to influence strategy?
    • How are family firms evolving their governance and ownership to make space at the top for women?
  • Middle East and North Africa (MENA) project
    • Deepening our expertise on ownership issues relevant in Middle Eastern and North African countries through partnership and collaboration with academics and specialist practitioners in the area.

Latest Publications