Established on 1 September 1963, the research institute was conceived by and named after the founder of Migros, Gottlieb Duttweiler. Taking his principle of "Focus on people and not on capital" as its starting point, the GDI researches and debates issues relating to the fields of consumption, trade and society, and current topics of relevance to business and society. It is owned by the "Im Grüene" Foundation, which is co-financed by Migros, Switzerland's largest retailer.