Abstract. The systems presented by the world managerial theory and practice display the concern for finding solutions adapted to the permanent changes taking place in the external environment or inside the economic organizations. In the following, we will focus on the concept of enterprise governance, highlighting the ideas on which the functioning of this managerial system is based and its effects on organizational performance and on the stakeholders’ satisfaction. The analysis of the more or less recent evolutions in various European countries, of the success and failures registered by now, allows us to draw out useful principles on which we could substantiate the managerial actions meant to sustain the immediate and future performance of the economic organizations.

Keywords: enterprise governance; economic performance; partnership approach; cognitive approach; organizational perenniality.