Images from my first lecture as part of the cycle on Sustainable Investments at the firm-level in the beautiful “Salle Maria-Theresia” at the Palais d’Academie. With this talk, and the talk next week, I am initiating my research fellowship at the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium as “SFPI Chair”.

The talk was divided into four segments: firstly, reviewing the past Chair, Max Krahe’s research as well as outlining Philippe de Woot’s legacy as to the “raison d’etre” of the firm. This was followed by a dualistic discussion of the firm, reviewing multiple interpretations, including the neoclassical, as well as the relational, view of the firm, the latter being connected with Isabelle Ferreras’ research on a political theory of the firm.

After this, I reviewed Mariana Mazzucato’s notion of the mission economy. This overview was followed by a final, synthetic, component, attempting to combine a relational, “political” theory of the firm with the notion of the mission economy. In this regard, a multi-stakeholder perspective was suggested as the most sensible one for embedding firms within a sustainable agenda or mission.

Video coming soon!