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How does shared capitalism affect economic performance in the UK?

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  • Bryson, Alex
  • Freeman, Richard

Abstract

This paper uses nationally representative linked workplace-employee data from the British 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey to examine the operation of shared capitalist forms of pay – profit-sharing and group pay for performance, employee share ownership, and stock options—and their link to productivity. It shows that shared capitalism has grown in the UK, as it has in the US; that different forms of shared capitalist pay complement each other and other labour practices in the sense that firms use them together more than they would if they chose modes of pay and work practices independently; and that workplaces switch among schemes frequently, which suggests that they have trouble optimizing and the transactions cost of switching are relatively low. Among the single schemes, share ownership has the clearest positive association with productivity, but its impact is largest when firms combine it with other forms of shared capitalist pay and modes of organization.

Suggested Citation

  • Bryson, Alex & Freeman, Richard, 2008. "How does shared capitalism affect economic performance in the UK?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 51596, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
  • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:51596
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/51596/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Duncan Gallie & Alan Felstead & Francis Green, 2004. "Changing Patterns of Task Discretion in Britain," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 18(2), pages 243-266, June.
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    7. Derek C. Jones, 1987. "The Productivity Effects of Worker Directors and Financial Participation by Employees in the Firm: The Case of British Retail Cooperatives," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 41(1), pages 79-92, October.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Pitfalls in employee ownership
      by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2012-01-17 21:12:23
    2. Control: Osborne's missing word
      by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2012-10-08 18:56:53
    3. Framing worker democracy
      by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2012-10-01 19:28:05
    4. Supply-side socialism
      by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2013-03-11 19:32:11

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Takao Kato & Ju Ho Lee & Jang-Soo Ryu, 2010. "The productivity effects of profit sharing, employee ownership, stock option and team incentive plans: evidence from Korean panel data," Advances in the Economic Analysis of Participatory & Labor-Managed Firms, in: Advances in the Economic Analysis of Participatory & Labor-Managed Firms, pages 111-135, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    2. KATO Takao & MIYAJIMA Hideaki & OWAN Hideo, 2016. "Does Employee Stock Ownership Work? Evidence from publicly-traded firms in Japan," Discussion papers 16073, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    3. David Marsden & Richard Belfield, 2010. "Institutions and the Management of Human Resources: Incentive Pay Systems in France and Great Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(2), pages 235-283, June.
    4. Alex Bryson & Richard B. Freeman, 2010. "To join or not to join? Factors influencing employee share plan membership in a multinational corporation," Advances in the Economic Analysis of Participatory & Labor-Managed Firms, in: Advances in the Economic Analysis of Participatory & Labor-Managed Firms, pages 1-22, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    5. Konstantinos Pouliakas & Nikolaos Theodoropoulos, 2012. "The Effect of Variable Pay Schemes on Workplace Absenteeism," Research in Labor Economics, in: Research in Labor Economics, pages 109-157, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    6. Fali Huang & Peter Cappelli, 2010. "Applicant Screening and Performance-Related Outcomes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 214-218, May.
    7. Mirella Damiani & Fabrizio Pompei & Andrea Ricci, 2013. "Wages and Labour Productivity: the role of performance-related pay in Italian firms," Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia, Finanza e Statistica 124/2013, Università di Perugia, Dipartimento Economia.
    8. Doucouliagos, Chris & Laroche, Patrice & Kruse, Douglas L. & Stanley, T. D., 2018. "Where Does Profit Sharing Work Best? A Meta-Analysis on the Role of Unions, Culture, and Values," IZA Discussion Papers 11617, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Patrice Laroche & Mathieu Floquet & Loris Guery & Chloé Guillot-Soulez & Anne Stévenot, 2013. "Les relations entre épargne salariale et rémunérations: une analyse des stratégies et de la cohérence des pratiques," Post-Print hal-01376120, HAL.
    10. Natalie Chun & Soohyung Lee, 2015. "Bonus compensation and productivity: evidence from Indian manufacturing plant-level data," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 47-58, February.
    11. Leila Baghdadi & Rihab Bellakhal & Marc-Arthur Diaye, 2012. "Do French firms use financial participation to transfer more risk to their workers?," Documents de recherche 12-10, Centre d'Études des Politiques Économiques (EPEE), Université d'Evry Val d'Essonne.
    12. Kato, Takao & Kauhanen, Antti, 2013. "Performance Pay and Enterprise Productivity: The Details Matter," ETLA Working Papers 21, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    13. Leila Baghdadi & Rihab Bellakhal & Marc-Arthur Diaye, 2016. "Financial Participation: Does the Risk Transfer Story Hold in France?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(1), pages 3-29, March.
    14. KATO Takao & KODAMA Naomi, 2015. "Performance-related Pay and Productivity: Evidence from Japan," Discussion papers 15088, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    15. Almudena Cañibano & David Marsden, 2009. "Participation in Organisations: Economic Approaches," CEP Discussion Papers dp0945, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    16. Kornelius Kraft & Julia Lang, 2016. "Just a Question of Selection? The Causal Effect of Profit Sharing on a Firm's Performance," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 444-467, July.
    17. James Arrowsmith & Paul Marginson, 2011. "Variable Pay and Collective Bargaining in British Retail Banking," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(1), pages 54-79, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

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