Workplace Democracy Through Numbers: How Internal Accounting Transparency and Participation Shape Gain-Sharing Credibility in Employee-Owned Firms

Abstract

Employee ownership, as workplace democracy in practice, depends on credible rules aligning worker voice with distributive outcomes. This study tests how internal accounting transparency and democratic participation shape the credibility and performance of gain sharing in employee-owned firms across Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Drawing on workplace democracy, information processing, and stewardship theories, we argue that routine disclosure of financial metrics builds trust in surplus allocation rules, while participatory governance turns trust into cooperative effort and performance. Using cross-national data and linear mixed models with country random effects, we find that (i) transparency and participation associate with higher credibility and uptake of gain sharing; and (ii) their interaction is positive, indicating complementarity between information openness and democratic voice. Results are stable across alternative operationalizations and institutional controls. Codifying transparent disclosure and participatory budgeting can stabilize expectations, reduce conflict, and sustain performance.