The Productivity Effects of Worker Directors and Financial Participation by Employees in the Firm: The Case of British Retail Cooperatives

Abstract

In British retail cooperatives, workers have long had the opportunity to participate financially in their enterprises, through such mechanisms as employee ownership, and to serve on boards. Using data from a 1978 sample of 50 cooperatives, the author of this paper presents econometric estimates of the effects on co-op productivity of these channels of participation. He finds that the presence of worker directors modestly increases productivity, whereas, surprisingly, financial participation in the firm by employees reduces productivity. The net impact on productivity of both forms of participation is small but positive.