Novel company law forms for social change: The development of tailor-made legislation for social enterprises in the Netherlands

Abstract

The impact case enhances the understanding of socio-legal research that contemplates the development of novel legal company forms which serve the well-being of humans and nature equally. Introducing novel company law forms for social change regards research in the field of social entrepreneurship and law, such as the development of tailor-made legislation for social enterprises in the Netherlands. Current legal forms for companies in the Netherlands do not support types of social entrepreneurial activity. Our research influenced directly the regulatory-making process of the novel forthcoming company law entity named the Besloten Vennootschap maatschappelijk (BVm), i.e., the private limited company with societal purpose which is about to be introduced in the Dutch company legislation. Particularly, our research team: (i) formulated key indicators for the BVm, which were accepted by the government in 2020 and will form the basis for new legislation which is currently being drafted; (ii) generated multiple academic studies, publications, seminars and conferences, as well as a PhD dissertation about the topic; (iii) supported many social enterprises in finding suitable legal forms (through educational programs, network sessions and collaboration with company and tax law experts).

Keywords

• Social entrepreneurship
• Social impact
• Sustainability transition
• Business law
• Legal forms
• Company law