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Employee stock ownership and the cost of capital11We are grateful to the Editor in Chief, Thomas Lagoarde-Segot and to participants at 2016 French accounting association conference, 2015 French finance association conference, the 2014 International corporate governance for their useful comments and suggestions. Siessima Djibril Toé provided excellent research assistance. All remaining errors are our own

Author

Listed:
  • Aubert, Nicolas
  • Kern, Alexander
  • Hollandts, Xavier

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between employee stock ownership and the cost of capital, the main determinant of shareholder value creation computed through economic value added (EVA). By reducing agency conflicts within the firm, we hypothesize that employee share ownership reduces the firm’s cost of capital by affecting its two components, i.e. the cost of equity and the cost of debt. We test this hypothesis in France, a leading country in terms of employee ownership, based on a panel of the 120 largest listed companies for the 2000–2011 period. We find: (i) no significant relationship between employee stock ownership and the cost of equity; (ii) a negative curvilinear relationship between employee stock ownership and the cost of debt; (ii) a negative curvilinear relationship between employee stock ownership and the weighted average cost of capital. These results suggest debtholders regard ESO as positive as long it is moderate because it shifts risk from them to employees and that this effect is still perceptible in the weighted average cost of capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Aubert, Nicolas & Kern, Alexander & Hollandts, Xavier, 2017. "Employee stock ownership and the cost of capital11We are grateful to the Editor in Chief, Thomas Lagoarde-Segot and to participants at 2016 French accounting association conference, 2015 French financ," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 67-78.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:41:y:2017:i:c:p:67-78
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2017.04.007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Shared capitalism employee ownership; Corporate governance; Cost of equity; Cost of debt; Cost of capital; Agency conflicts;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • J54 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Producer Cooperatives; Labor Managed Firms
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • L74 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction - - - Construction
    • L85 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Real Estate Services
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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