1. Danish Cooperatives and Foundations as forms of corporate governance
Peer Hull Kristensen and Glenn Morgan

2. Corporate forms and social structures during industrialisation
Organizational forms and experimentalism during early period of industrialisation – collective forms (coops, friendly societies, mutuals etc) and different forms of private property.
Influence of existing social structure over distribution and dominance of different forms
More unequal societies moved towards stronger forms of private control where inequality of distribution was more strongly built in.
Less unequal societies created stronger collective institutions and organizational forms
Diversity within and across societies threatened by neo-liberalism

3. Danish industrialisation and organizational forms: the roots of cooperation
Central role of cooperatives in small railway towns
Importance of self-help movements
Dominant social position of craft workers reinforced by development of training schools etc.
Rise of craft production model and dynamic small firms in clusters and localities
Supported by extensive trade union organization and emergent Danish welfare state
Embeddedness of economic organization in strong institutions and social relations – both local and national

4. Large scale production and finance
Centred in Copenhagen
Tietgen founded a private bank and tried to form and consolidate large scale firms e.g. Tuborg as integrated firm
Finance driven model of production
Tietgen also sought to dominate areas such as slaughterhouses etc which led to competition with emerging cooperatives
To compete against Tietgen and large scale production, the cooperative and craft sector had to modernise and find advanced forms of production, manufacture and distribution

5. The challenges of growth: Cooperatives
Local coops have amalgamated into national cooperatives which have in turn gone international – Arla, Danish Crown
Have become major exporters
Have issued bonds in financial markets
Have been instrumental in innovation
Has led to problems of centralization and distancing from local communities
But remain cooperative in structure and distribution as well as contributing to local developments

6. The Challenges of growth: family firms and the rise of Foundations
Firms that have developed through organic growth and self-financing
What structure for firms as they grow beyond original founders and seek to avoid business being destroyed by second generation and high taxes?
Danish firms looked for ways to sustain continuity and social purposes.
First Foundation – Carlsberg 1876 – became rapidly popular form
1400 Foundations in Denmark
100,000 employees in Denmark, 200,000 abroad
5% domestic employment
8% of private employement
5-10% GDP contribution
(Thompson 2014)

7. Legal characteristics of Danish Foundations
Creation by donation of company shares to Foundation
Independence of Foundation: self-selected governing body
Governance by Charter spelling out philanthropic purposes as well as detail on stucture
Governance by a board of nominated members - the Foundation acts at its own discretion subject to its charter and supervision by government bodies.
The Foundation may be sole owner of a business or majority owner or it may control the corporation through a differentiated share structure of A and B shares

8. Effects of Foundation ownership at general level
Patient capital – supports R&D over long terms
Philanthropic programmes affecting education, culture and development in Denmark and overseas
Focus on social responsibility for localities, for the country as a whole and for broader development objectives

9. Examples of Foundations’ impact on economic strategies and development
Inside Denmark
Maersk and Odense shipyard redevelopment
Novo Nordic: support for extra training leading to skills upgrading
Danfoss: supporting new clusters of firms in home locality
Beyond Denmark
Grundfoss: Life link – drinking water project
Danfoss: China district heating system
Novo Nordic:
China: physician training
Diabetes awareness in Asia

10. Overall conclusions
Organizational forms reflect, reproduce and impact on the social structure of societies – they are particularly affected by degrees of inequality, power and differentiation
Shareholder value driven corporations reflect and enable more unequal societies
Societies characterised by less inequality have produced and sustained different organizational forms.
Globalization, neo-liberalism and financialization have put pressure on these different forms but they remain deeply embedded in some contexts.
Creating more diversity of forms is also about creating new social relations which challenge expanding inequalities and power differences.