Definitive Study of ESOP Survival Published

A study that the NCEO has referred to for years has been formally published in a volume of research papers titled Advances in the Economic Analysis of Participatory & Labor-Managed Firms. The article, "Firm Survival and Performance in Privately Held ESOP Companies" by Joseph Blasi, Douglas Kruse, and Dan Weltmann, tracks the entire population of ESOP companies from 1988 to 1999. The researchers conclude "Privately held ESOP companies in 1988 were only half as likely as non-ESOP firms to go bankrupt or close over the 1988 to 1999 period, and only three-fifths as likely to disappear for any reason. The ESOP companies had significantly higher post-adoption annual employment and sales growth, along with higher sales per employee."