Buying into capitalism? Employee ownership in a disconnected era
Abstract
This paper considers whether employee ownership mitigates the negative workplace outcomes identified by the Disconnected Capitalism Thesis (DCT). Drawing on a programme of in-depth interviews with workers and managers in EOBs, the paper reveals how they are partially insulated from the vicissitudes endemic within contemporary capitalism. In contrast to the workplace outcomes envisaged within the DCT, these firms are characterised by strong workforce participation, high levels of employment security, active employee engagement and strong levels of employee creativity. Not only are these features beneficial for productivity and firm performance, they generate a form of “connected” capitalism, partially offsetting wider negative systemic forces at play in the economy.
Citation
Brown , R , McQuaid , R , Raeside , R , Dutton , M , Egdell , V & Canduela , J 2019 , ' Buying into capitalism? Employee ownership in a disconnected era ' , British Journal of Industrial Relations , vol. 57 , no. 1 , pp. 62-85 . https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12309
Publication
British Journal of Industrial Relations
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0007-1080Type
Journal article
Description
The authors wish to thank Scottish Enterprise for funding the study reported in this article.Collections
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