Ownership
Ownership approaches that could be adopted within a contributionist organisation
Last updated
Ownership approaches that could be adopted within a contributionist organisation
Last updated
Contributionism advocates for organisations that are collectively owned by those that contribute towards the organisation or that are publicly owned by the government.
The adopted ownership approach will determine who receives governance rights in the organisation. An organisation will need to think about the governance decisions that are involved in operating the organisation and which contributor might be the most suited to handle those decisions. Governance rights will give contributors influence and control over how the organisation is operated. Organisations would always be collectively owned.
Consumer and donor ownership approaches can have some limitations due to scaling complexities. However these approaches are still highly useful in certain situations.
Mixed contribution ownership was also considered as another potential ownership approach. A mixed ownership model could be used smaller and simpler organisation however it is still difficult to recommend this approach due to the unnecessary complexities it can introduce even for those organisations.
Worker ownership
Worker owned organisations are those that are owned by people that provide their labour to the organisation. Labour contributions would influence who has ownership in the organisation.
Consumer ownership
Consumer owned organisations are those that are owned by people that consume the goods or services that are provided by the organisation. Consumption would influence who has ownership in the organisation. In a market economy this will mean consumer purchases.
Donor ownership
Donor owned organisations are those that are owned by people that donate towards an organisation. Donations would influence who has ownership in the organisation.
Public ownership
Public ownership means that the government would own the organisation. Contributions would not result in ownership of the organisation, however contributions would still be used to determine who receives governance rights.
An organisation should document the type of ownership it has adopted so that it is clear to all contributors who will be receiving governance rights within the organisation. The type of ownership that has been adopted could change in the future as an organisation develops and evolves. It would be up to the existing owners to determine whether another ownership approach would be more suitable. Market failures could provide another reason why an organisation's type of ownership might get changed due to an intervention from the government to resolve or prevent these failures.
For worker, donor and consumer owned organisations, the ownership of the organisation will dynamically change over time based on the contributions that people make towards the organisation.
Under capitalism, ownership is determined by capital based shares. Shares can be sold to other people which can lead to changes in the ownership of an organisation. Shares give owners permanent governance and incentive rights within the organisation. Shareholders determine who sits on the board of directors. The board of directors select executives that will determine how the organisation is governed and incentivised. Capitalism uses capitalisation tables to break down who owns what percentage of equity in the organisation.
Under contributionism, ownership is determined by contribution. Contributions made towards an organisation cannot be sold to other people. Instead contributions are always permanently recorded and tied to the individual that made them. Contributors receive temporary governance and incentive rights for their contributions. These temporary governance and incentive rights can be sold to other people. Contributors with governance rights will determine how the organisation is operated and incentivised. Contributors determine whether leadership positions need to exist. If they do exist, contributors will also decide who fills those positions. Contributionism uses contribution tables to record every person's contribution towards an organisation. Contribution tables would record consumer purchases, donations, labour contributions and capital investments.
Contributions made towards an organisation should in many cases be permanently recorded. Contributionism advocates for the usage of contribution tables regardless of whether an organisation is publicly owned or owned by contributors. Contribution tables can help with changing an organisation's ownership structure in the future if each type of contribution is accurately recorded.
Records of contribution can be used to ensure that contributions are respected. Contribution records should be non-transferable as contributions can be used for a number of long term use cases such as for aligning the incentives with top performing contributors, reputation building, future reflection, compliance and as a proof of contribution.
Temporary governance and incentive rights can be sold to other people. Records of these exchanges can also be an important additional piece of information that should be recorded so that the organisation can remain aware of who has what governance and incentive rights in the organisation. These records of exchange might also be important for remaining compliant with different laws and regulations.
Contributionism focuses on how organisations are owned, governed and incentivised. This focus does not cover how other types of resources and capital should be owned and governed. Common ownership could be an important approach for protecting scarce and important resources and assets. Public parks, community buildings and other natural resources are all examples of resources that could benefit from common ownership. Organisations may need to request access to use these resources and assets from communities that govern their usage.
