Publications

Web

The Ownership Project | Institute for Business in Global Society

key institutional features that support particular forms of ownership? Current research includes cases on employee ownership trusts, developing dimensions for an expanded typology of View Details

24 Sep 2021
News

The Growth Engine Too Many Companies Overlook: Employees

02 Nov 2016
What Do You Think?

Are Employees Becoming Job 'Renters' Instead of 'Owners'?

Summing Up: Is Job Ownership Nature or Nurture? Employees increasingly are becoming “job renters.” For some, it is a disturbing trend. It doesn’t have to happen. And the phenomenon isn’t universal. These... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Mar 2023
News

Elevator Pitch: Spread the Wealth

Illustration by Drue Wagner Illustration by Drue Wagner Sabine Tejerina (MBA 2009) Cofounder and COO, Upstreet Concept: Launched in 2020, Upstreet makes it easier and more economical for companies to reward employees and customers with... View Details

Keywords: entrepreneurship; stock ownership; customer rewards; employee retention; financial literacy; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance

23 Jun 2023
HBS Case

This Company Lets Employees Take Charge—Even with Life and Death Decisions

case, we heard anecdotes from Buurtzorg’s employees that suggest many, if not most, of them are highly engaged, take full ownership of their work, are pursuing creative ways of serving their patients, and... View Details

Keywords: by Annelena Lobb; Health

December 2001
Exercise

Exercise on Employee Stock Option Dilution

By: Brian J. Hall

Discusses the effects of option dilution on stock prices and shareholder value. To simplify the example and isolate the complexity of option dilution, we make a number of simplifying assumptions. View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Price; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Business and Shareholder Relations; Complexity; Value

September 2024
Case

Leadership for Stretch Goals: Inspiring Employees to Achieve the Impossible at Charter Next Generation

By: Ethan Rouen and Elisabeth Powell

In 2023, Kathy Bolhous, CEO of Charter Next Generation (CNG), set out to achieve an ambitious "Moonshot"—increasing profits by $100 million within three years, purely through internal innovations and efficiency gains, without layoffs or new revenue streams. After years... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; Employee Ownership; Motivation and Incentives

16 May 2023
HBS Case

How KKR Got More by Giving Ownership to the Factory Floor: ‘My Kids Are Going to College!’

“quiet quitting” seen across many office spaces and factory floors. It also lit a pathway for companies looking to meet societal calls for a more just economy. “What if every company in United States gave employees meaningful View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

January 2011 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Elizabeth Jacobs: Price-Earnings Ratios and Employee Stock Option Grants

By: David F. Hawkins

Analyst questions the value of accounting measurement of earnings per share and stock option costs for equity valuation purposes. View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Business Earnings; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Stock Shares; Employee Ownership; Stock Options; Equity; Accounting Audits; Valuation; Profit Sharing; Accounting Industry

10 Jul 2014
News

Harpoon Brewery CEO Steps Aside, Turns Stake over to Employees

Keywords: Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

December 2018
Case

Corporate Transformation at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Amy C. Edmondson, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Tonia Labruyere

When Stefan Oschmann became CEO and chairman of the executive board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in 2016, the company had started its transformation from a mid-tier traditional German industry player to a global modern science and technology player. The... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance With Family Ownership; Transformation; Change Management; Restructuring; Corporate Governance; Family Ownership

March 2009
Article

The Impact of Shareholder Activism on Financial Reporting and Compensation: The Case of Employee Stock Options Expensing

By: F. Ferri and Tatiana Sandino

We examine the economic consequences of more than 150 shareholder proposals to expense employee stock options (ESO) submitted during the proxy seasons of 2003 and 2004, the first case in which the SEC allowed a shareholder vote on an accounting matter. Our results... View Details

Keywords: Shareholder Activism; Shareholder Votes; Stock Option Expensing; Executive Compensation; Financial Reporting; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Corporate Governance; Business and Shareholder Relations; Investment Activism

SSRN

2007
Working Paper

The Impact of Shareholder Activism on Financial Reporting and Compensation: The Case of Employee Stock Options Expensing

By: Fabrizio Ferri and Tatiana Sandino

In this paper we examine the economic consequences of over 150 shareholder proposals to expense employee stock options (ESO) submitted during the proxy seasons of 2003 and 2004–the first case where the SEC has allowed an accounting matter to be subject to an advisory... View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Financial Reporting; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Corporate Governance; Investment Activism; Business and Shareholder Relations

November 2018 (Revised July 2023)
Case

The Weir Group: Reforming Executive Pay (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Federica Gabrieli

In February 2018, the Remuneration Committee together with the full Board of Directors of the Scotland-based engineering company The Weir Group had to decide whether to seek a shareholder vote at the upcoming Annual General Meeting in April on a proposal to reform the... View Details

2020
Article

Immigrant Entrepreneurship in America: Evidence from the Survey of Business Owners 2007 & 2012

By: Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr

We study immigrant entrepreneurship in 2007 and 2012 using the Survey of Business Owners. First-generation immigrants create about 25% of new firms in America, but this share exceeds 40% in some states. Immigrant-owned firms tend to create fewer jobs than native-owned... View Details

Keywords: Job Creation; Employee Benefits; Owner Demographics; Exports; Outsourcing; Immigration; Entrepreneurship; Ownership; Demographics; Jobs and Positions; Compensation and Benefits; United States

Read Now

22 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

10 Reasons to Design a Better Corporate Culture

the answer lies in recognizing that strong, adaptive cultures can foster innovation, productivity, and a sense of ownership among employees and customers. They also outlast any individual charismatic leader.... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser & Joe Wheeler

December 2022 (Revised June 2023)
Case

KKR at CHI Overhead Doors (A)

By: Dennis Campbell and Ethan Rouen

This case examines the decision by private equity firm KKR to grant equity to every employee at portfolio company CHI Overhead Doors upon purchasing the company in 2015. The case explores whether this initiative will create shared value, growing profits through better... View Details

Keywords: Performance Improvement; Profit Sharing; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture

July 2004 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Digitas (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Ashley Robertson

Raises issues about how the nature and function of a board changes as its company moves from ownership by its employees (including the founder) to ownership by a private equity firm, Hellman & Friedman, to public ownership. Teaching Purpose: To consider changes in... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Governing and Advisory Boards; Behavior; Organizations; Employee Ownership; Public Ownership

January–February 2018
Article

More than a Paycheck: How to Create Good Blue-Collar Jobs in the Knowledge Economy

By: Dennis Campbell, John Case and Bill Fotsch

Fifty years ago a good blue-collar job was with a large manufacturer such as General Motors or Goodyear. Often unionized, it paid well, offered benefits, and was secure. But manufacturing employment has steadily declined, from about 25% of the U.S. labor force in 1970... View Details

Keywords: Jobs and Positions; Employee Ownership; Profit Sharing; Organizational Culture