PhD student: Mrs L. Bueken

Promotor: Mrs Prof S. Cools

Duration: 1/9/2023 - 31/8/2029

Abstract:

My PhD is a project of the corporate department of the Jan Ronse Institute for Company and Financial Law from the KU Leuven. The subject of the PhD shall be in the domain of company and association law. The title of the project "Association vs Company" is only an indicative title, as the subject will be further determined in consultation with the doctoral supervisor. The project starts from the observation that often a variety of legal forms exist within the same sector with activities specific to this sector. It is generally accepted that sports, and more specifically, promoting certain sports, is a non-profit purpose. Therefore most local soccer, tennis, dance clubs are organized as a non-profit entity. However, professional sports clubs (such as professional soccer clubs) are mostly organized as for-profit entities. Another example may be found in the festival sector. It is generally accepted that a cultural purpose is a non-profit purpose. Even though small festivals are often organized by non-profit entities, bigger festivals are often organized by for-profit entities. Another observation is the development of hybrid structures, i.e. the practice where assets and/or activities are divided amongst non-profit entities and for-profit entities that exist next to and are linked to each other. The research project aims to investigate the distinction between companies and associations, which has consequences in various legal domains, and builds on a question that has risen in economic literature: "What happens when imperfect regulation permits the development of non-profits that are for-profits in disguise?"