Description
This COST Action explores Steward Ownership (StOw) — an alternative business ownership model that separates profit rights from control to promote long-term, purpose-driven entrepreneurship. Rooted in European traditions like enterprise foundations (e.g., Bosch, Carlsberg), StOw aims to address pressing societal and economic challenges such as inequality, short-termism, and succession crises in family businesses.
The Action seeks to develop a multidisciplinary and comparative understanding of StOw by integrating insights from law, management, sociology, philosophy, and political science. It will investigate the legal, economic, and social viability of StOw across Europe, aiming to create a legal toolbox, model laws, and governance codes to support its implementation.
Key objectives include mapping legal frameworks, analyzing governance and financial structures, assessing societal impact, and fostering stakeholder engagement. The project emphasizes capacity building, especially for young researchers and practitioners, and aims to influence European industrial policy by offering StOw as a competitive and sustainable alternative to traditional corporate models.
Through interdisciplinary working groups, empirical research, and stakeholder collaboration, the Action aspires to position Europe as a leader in steward ownership, contributing to innovation, social equity, and resilient economies.
Action keywords
Steward-ownership - Purpose - Business organisations - Corporate governance - Social innovation
Management Committee
| Country | MC Member |
|---|---|
| Poland | |
| Switzerland |
Main Contacts
Action Contacts
COST Staff
Working Groups
| Number | Title | Leader |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WG1 – Legal Foundations and Organisational Forms | TBA |
| 2 | WG2 – Establishment and Legal Transitions | TBA |
| 3 | WG3 – Financial and Economic Architecture and Taxation | TBA |
| 4 | WG4 – Governance and Internal Monitoring | TBA |
| 5 | WG5 – Societal Impact and External Oversight | TBA |
| 6 | WG6 – Legislative and Policy Development | TBA |
Express your interest to join any of the working groups by applying below.
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