The Ownership Project at Oxford Saïd

An estimated 70% of global businesses are family-owned. Our research, teaching, and global conversations bring responsibility and sustainability to their core.

How do family businesses become resilient for the future?

Responsible ownership is the future of family businesses.A fairer, stronger, more innovative economy calls for new frameworks对于大型资产所有者——包括家族企业es. Families steering some of the biggest companies in the world control specific tools to benefit people and the planet, including concentrated ownership, investment vehicles, and philanthropic platforms. These enable family owners to steward their business responsibly, making sure it is sustainable in the long-term. Owners have the potential of becoming powerful catalysts for change by setting their vision of the future as the guiding principle for their business.

The Ownership Project provides a platform for knowledge generation and dissemination. We seek to empirically understand the impact of ownership on businesses, communities, and society — and the key factors shaping sustainable ownership in the future.

Our research expertise is drawn from finance, economics, anthropology and social impact.

• Mary Johnstone-Louis, Senior Research Fellow and Programme Director
• Peter Tufano, Peter Moores Professor of Finance
• Colin Mayer CBEFBA, Emeritus Professor
• Bridget Kustin, Research Fellow and Qualitative Lead
• Andrienne d'Arenberg, Executive-in-Residence
• BelénVillalonga, Professor of Management and Organizations, NYU's Stern School of Business, Associate Scholar, Saïd Business School
• Madeline Asta, Research Assistant
• Yuezhou Yang, Research Assistant
• Anna Tervahartiala, Head of Communications,CSP Zurich, External Consultant, The Ownership Project at Oxford Saïd

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 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?

Our Family Advisory Council helps us translate our research insights into practical tools for business owners.

Our Family Advisory Council brings senior owners from family enterprises from across the globe together to establish pathways towards responsible ownership.

The Council meets as a group and in regular one-to-one sessions with our researchers. The role of the Council is to test our ideas and ensure that our insights are disseminated to the people holding the levers enabling change.

*Participation in our research, teaching, or convening does not imply our endorsement of any particular individual or group.