Summary
The historical relationship between capital and labor has evolved in the past few decades. One particularly noteworthy development is the rise of shared capitalism, a system in which workers have become partial owners of their firms and thus, in effect, both employees and stockholders. Profit sharing arrangements and gain-sharing bonuses, which tie compensation directly to a firm’s performance, also reflect this new attitude toward labor.
Shared Capitalism at Work analyzes the effects of this trend on workers and firms. The contributors focus on four main areas: the fraction of firms that participate in shared capitalism programs in the United States and abroad, the factors that enable these firms to overcome classic free rider and risk problems, the effect of shared capitalism on firm performance, and the impact of shared capitalism on worker well-being. This volume provides essential studies for understanding the increasingly important role of shared capitalism in the modern workplace.
Table of Contents:
Introduction by Richard Freeman, Joseph R. Blasi and Douglas L. Kruse
- Shared Capitalism in the U.S. Economy: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Employee Views of Financial Participation in Enterprises by Douglas L. Kruse, Joseph R. Blasi and Rhokeun Park
- Worker Responses to Shirking Under Shared Capitalism by Richard B. Freeman, Douglas L. Kruse and Joseph R. Blasi
- Risk and Lack of Diversification Under Employee Ownership and Shared Capitalism by Joseph R. Blasi, Douglas L. Kruse and Harry M. Markowitz
- Creating a Bigger Pie? The Effects of Employee Ownership, Profit Sharing, and Stock Options on Workplace Performance by Joseph R. Blasi, Richard B. Freeman, Christopher Mackin, and Douglas L. Kruse
- Complementarity of Shared Compensation and Decision-Making Systems: Evidence from the American Labor Market by Arindrajit Dube and Richard B. Freeman
- How Does Shared Capitalism Affect Economic Performance in the United Kingdom? by Alex Bryson and Richard B. Freeman
- Who Has a Better Idea? Innovation, Shared Capitalism, and the Human Resources Policies by Erika E. Harden, Douglas L. Kruse and Joseph R. Blasi
- Do Workers Gain by Sharing? Employee Outcomes Under Employee Ownership, Profit Sharing, and Broad-Based Stock Options by Douglas L. Kruse, Richard B. Freeman and Joseph R. Blasi
- Does Employee Ignorance Undermine Shared Capitalism? by John W. Budd
- Who Benefits from Shared Capitalism? The Social Stratification of Wealth and Power in Companies with Employee Ownership by Edward J. Carberry
- Show Me the Money: Does Shared Capitalism Share the Wealth? by Robert Buchele, Douglas L. Kruse, Loren Rodgers and Adria Scharf