Does Employee Ownership Improve Performance?
A synthesis of 100+ studies finds employee ownership broadly improves firm performance, job stability, worker pay, and economic equality — while remaining underutilized.
Summary
This IZA World of Labor article by Douglas Kruse reviews over 100 studies on employee ownership across multiple countries. It finds consistent links between employee ownership and better firm performance, higher pay, greater job security, and reduced layoffs in recessions. It also addresses free-rider concerns, financial risk, and makes the case for supportive public policy to expand employee ownership.
