Board Structure at Carris Reels: A Participatory ESOP Company

This case explores the context in which decisions related to the composition of the board of directors are made at a company with a strong, participatory culture and strong values of accountability, responsibility, and community. This case study seeks an in-depth understanding of a 100% ESOP company’s (Carris Reels, Inc.) values, culture, and processes related to broad-based employee participation in decision-making and governance of the company. Data were collected from formal and informal interviews and discussions with Carris Reels’ employees, observation, and company archival data, including newsletters, meeting minutes, and announcements. Goals may be sufficiently different at highly participatory, majority employee-owned ESOP companies such that regulatory guidelines for board structure for public or privately held companies that are not employee-owned should be evaluated in the context of that company’s stakeholders. A trend toward external members for boards of directors should be given careful consideration in the case of majority ESOP companies whose employee-owned and governed status is central to the company’s vision. This case study provides an in-depth look at a company’s board of directors’ composition-related decision-making in the context of broad-based participatory processes and the desire to maintain a profitable and fully employee-owned and governed enterprise.