Doctoral Dissertation Research: Worker Ownership in US Machine Manufacturing

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract Approximately 2,500 majority employee owned firms operate in the contemporary US economy and their ownership structure constitutes a drastic alternative to the traditional investor or family-owned firm, yet their productive potential has never been rigorously studied. This project utilizes a three-case comparative ethnography of firms in the U.S. industrial machine manufacturing industry to examine the effects of majority employee ownership and high performance work organization on strategic and operational decision-making. First, how do majority and non-majority employee owned firms govern and implement strategic and operational decision making? Second, how is high productivity work organization governed and implemented in majority employee owned and non-majority employee owned firms? The three selected firms all utilize extensive high productivity work organization practices and operate in the industrial machine manufacturing industry, a particularly challenging context for employee ownership. Two majority employee owned cases serve as critical cases, in that their performance will suggest the possibilities for employee owned firms in less adverse environments. The two employee owned firms vary in the degree of employee direct participation in strategic governance, in order to parse out the effects of employee ownership and employee control. The third firm will be privately owned and will serve as a benchmark. In order to capture the decision-making processes and subjective orientations of workers towards the firm, data will be collected through a combination of in-depth interviews and participant observation, organized around six month internships in each of the firms. Beyond its intellectual merit, this dissertation will have a range of broader impacts. I am partnering with the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives to develop educational case studies from the two majority employee owned firms. These cases will be made available on the Center's website and will offer guidance for entrepreneurs considering employee ownership as an organizational strategy. Second, part of my agreement with the organizations will be to share my findings and collaborate on research projects to improve their human resource practices and increase the involvement of employees in governance.