Firm ownership is a key form of corporate governance that governs or controls the actions of managers.
However, although firms may be owned by different types of owners simultaneously, most studies
examine owner influence on a particular firm outcome in isolation. The general purpose of this course is
to provide a foundation for conducting and publishing original research in the areas of firm ownership
and ownership forms. One important goal is to provide an overview of central perspectives, themes and
strategic outcomes related with the topic. Students will learn to ‘know-the [ownership] field’ and be able to
apply it in their research work. The other important goal is for students to develop the skills to critically
assess the ownership field of research and conduct meaningful investigations by identifying important
gaps, tensions or paradoxes in the literature and in empirical findings. Concepts and ideas on how firm
ownership and ownership forms are or should be researched will be discussed. The course will cover
several topics in the field along with relevant theoretical perspectives

On completion of the course, the students will be able to:

• Demonstrate a broad knowledge of firm ownership and ownership forms, and an understanding of the related theories, perspectives and findings.

• Identify appropriate angles to study different ownership forms and outcomes to develop research projects.
• Demonstrate an ability to engage in scholarly analysis and discussions of different ownership topics in the entrepreneurship/strategy/management fields.

• Evaluate and constructively criticize key contributions to the ownership field of research and demonstrate deeper insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the field, as well as its development trends.

There are many ownership topics and it is difficult to cover all in one course. This course will embrace a
selection of the most influential topics in ownership applied in contemporary research. The topics will
differ in their main areas of application to be able to offer a course that is relevant to a broad group of
doctoral students in business administration: a) Firm Ownership and Ownership Forms, b) Ownership
Identity and Psychological Ownership, c) Firm Ownership and Corporate Restructuring, d) Firm
Ownership and Innovation

The course is based on presentation seminars. This means that students are required to take an active
approach to their own learning. The course leaders will facilitate interaction and dialogue during seminars,
but participants will have to spend time on reading, writing and reflecting before and after the seminars.

Undervisningen bedrivs på engelska.

Admitted to a doctoral programme in business administration or a related subject of a recognized business school or university.

Kursen bedöms med betygen Underkänd eller Godkänd.

The course will be examined in the following way:
• Attendance and active participation during discussion seminars. Fulfill ILOs 1-4.
• Assignments Fulfill ILOs 1-4.
Assignments 2 and 3 are individual; instead Assignment 1 can be individual or in group depending on the
number of participants. All parts of the examination must be passed to achieve a grade in the course. The
grades for the course are “pass” or “fail”.

A course evaluation will be conducted at the end of the course.

Literature provided by the instructors.