Pete Stavros was on a high after his latest experiment with employee ownership. As the head of industrial investments for KKR, Stavros orchestrated the sale of CHI Overhead Doors, which turned into KKR’s best investment in more than two decades and created $360 million in wealth for CHI’s blue collar workforce through broad-based employee ownership. … Read More
When owners of family-owned and other closely held businesses think about retirement or exit, they weigh several considerations. They often ask themselves and their advisors such questions as: How do I cash out? How do I best handle succession, estate, and tax issues? What will happen to the business that my family members or partners, … Read More
This short brief provides updated statistics and analysis regarding workers’ participation in employee ownership plans, and the wealth and job quality benefits those workers realize from their participation. The brief was presented as part of the 2023 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum cosponsored by Aspen Institute and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and … Read More
Despite the enormity of the racial wealth gap in our country, the current conversation around Black wealth is healthy. Across every sector, and within every stakeholder group, many extraordinary Black business and economic leaders are convening and engaging in productive conversations about the state of Black America and the future of Black economic prosperity. We … Read More
This study looks at the potential of employee ownership transitioning Black workers from employees to cooperative owners in their place of work as one possible route to asset building that has growing interest. Low inheritance of assets leads to poverty as a driver of the racial wealth gap. With a focus on the nexus of … Read More
Questions: Why are so few Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) created? Why do business owners who proactively explore an ESOP sale but decide not to proceed make that choice? What do such sellers see as the key barriers? What information informs their decision? What are their primary transaction objectives? What alternatives do they opt to … Read More
Question: What wealth building effects do ESOPS have for families of color? Wealth is the set of resources, held in many forms, which can be leveraged or invested for economic stability, security, and wellbeing. It is well known and broadly accepted that in the United States there is a significant gap between the wealth held … Read More
Question: How satisfied are employees with their pay in ESOP firms, and what are the possible solutions to employees’ low pay satisfaction? Answer: In this group of nine ESOP firms, some employees report that they are paid an above-average wage, but some report they are paid a below-average wage. Those with a below-average wage are … Read More
Questions: What impact do ESOPs have on wealth in retirement? In particular, what is the relationship between prior ESOP participation and the average wealth of worker-owners once they retire? And what effect (if any) do ESOPs have on wealth inequality among retirees? Summary: Using data from the 2008-2018 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, … Read More
Questions: How do women fare in ESOPs? How do women in ESOPs compare to women not in ESOPs? Summary: Some gender differences in the larger society are reflected in ESOP companies. There are fewer women than men in ESOPs. Within ESOPs there are fewer women in top management and highly trained/high pay occupations. Women in … Read More
Question: How does the involvement of employee owners in ESOP companies in making various workplace decisions compare to employee involvement in non-ESOP companies? Answer: Comparing ESOP vs non-ESOP workers, ESOP workers showed greater involvement in work organization, scheduling, and safety, but lower involvement in setting pay/benefits compared with the non-ESOP workers. However, ESOP companies tend … Read More
This paper, presented at the Rutgers-Oxford Employee Ownership Research Symposium in 2023 held at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, discusses the current state of employee ownership research and where it needs to go. The paper is written in an informal manner where the authors write in the first person.
This teaching case study explores the dynamics and evolution of employee ownership in HDR, a large multinational professional services firm. Broad-based employee ownership has strong affinities with professional services firms, whose success largely depends on the knowledge and capabilities their employees bring to their work. As HDR grew and expanded internationally, it had to address … Read More
This research presentation was hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in partnership with the Ford Foundation. The event explored how some companies are seeking to increase low- and moderate-income workers’ wealth through investments in ownership and employee benefits. Focus was on how efforts to improve the wealth of low- and moderate-income workers … Read More
Telecare, a mental health provider founded on respect and recovery, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015, and by 2018 it was focused on future growth. Workforce development was a key factor, and the management team had developed a well-researched plan which was authored and supported at the highest levels of the organization. It encompassed a … Read More
Wilson Senior Care enjoyed stability and growth in the skilled nursing industry in South Carolina beginning in 1947 and through to the present day. The company has evolved into an award-winning provider of rehabilitation and nursing services for patients coming from acute care and for the elderly. The ownership-mentality of the employees, stemming from the … Read More
MyPath grew steadily since its inception in 1984 in an industry rife with regulations and oversight. Navigating the healthcare landscape and advocating for its disabled patients became a hallmark of the organization. Through the years, a strong culture emerged thanks in part to employee ownership which contributed to a ‘can-do’ attitude found at all levels … Read More
The field of broad-based employee ownership within corporations is a specific application of the foundational topic of property ownership. It is situated at the intersection of a broad range of scholarly disciplines including economics, law, finance and management. Each discipline contributes vocabulary and distinctions describing this field. That broad spectrum of disciplinary inquiry is a … Read More
With fifty successful years behind Acadian Ambulance Service, now known as Acadian Companies, the focus was clearly on the future. The company had a history of steady organic growth and external growth through strategic mergers and acquisitions. The company now was comprised of six successful and profitable divisions, all synergistic but unique in their management … Read More
We continue to fail to adequately compensate most essential workers even as corporate profits remain high and wealth inequality and race and gender wealth gaps persist. Employee ownership has continued to emerge against this backdrop and across party lines as a potential strategy for building an economy where prosperity is more equitably shared. Awareness about … Read More
The purpose of these chapters (Parts 1 and 2) is to show why and how one firm integrated Servant Leadership, among other initiatives, into its growing socially responsible culture, through the eyes of its designing CEO. The firm is a 50-year-old, US nationwide environmental consultancy, which is now 100% employee-owned and a legal “public benefit … Read More
Wages don’t cover the bills. Wealth inequality is growing. Social trust is eroding. There are endless debates about what to do, but one key factor is inexplicably left out: who owns the companies that drive the economy? Ownership matters. Ownership by a few means benefits for a few. But if you spread ownership around, you … Read More
This Kent State University course is motivated by the broad question: what role can workplace democracy and employee ownership play in creating an economy that works for all? Workplace democracy and employee ownership take a multitude of forms and are receiving renewed attention from public officials, the business community, social movement leaders, and academics. Nearly … Read More
Purpose This study investigates whether broad-based employee ownership (BBEO), in isolation and in conjunction with cash profit sharing (CPS), can enhance labor productivity in family firms over nonfamily firms. Design/methodology/approach Hypothesis testing was conducted using cross-sectional time-series regression with a matched sample of 393 family and nonfamily firms listed on the US S&P 500 over … Read More
Employee ownership has attracted growing attention for its potential to improve economic outcomes for companies, workers, and the economy in general, and help reduce inequality. Over 100 studies across many countries indicate that employee ownership is generally linked to better productivity, pay, job stability, and firm survival—though the effects are dispersed and causation is difficult … Read More