Doctoral Dissertation Research: Worker Ownership in US Machine Manufacturing

摘要在当代美国经济中，大约有2500家多数员工所有的公司，它们的所有权结构与传统的投资者或家族企业形成了鲜明的对比，但它们的生产潜力从未得到过严格的研究。本项目利用美国工业机械制造业公司的三个案例比较民族志来检验多数员工所有权和高绩效工作组织对战略和运营决策的影响。首先，多数和非多数员工所有的公司是如何管理和实施战略和运营决策的？第二，在多数员工所有和非多数员工所有的公司中，高生产率的工作组织是如何治理和实施的？这三家选定的公司都利用广泛的高生产率工作组织实践，并在工业机器制造业中运营，这对员工所有权来说是一个特别具有挑战性的背景。两个多数员工拥有的案例作为关键案例，因为他们的表现将表明员工拥有的公司在不那么不利的环境中的可能性。两家员工持股企业在员工直接参与战略治理的程度上存在差异，以解析员工持股和员工控制的影响。第三家公司将为私人所有，并将作为基准。为了捕捉决策过程和员工对公司的主观取向，将通过深度访谈和参与者观察相结合的方式收集数据，在每家公司组织大约六个月的实习。除了它的智力价值，这篇论文将有一系列更广泛的影响。我正在与威斯康星大学合作社中心合作，从这两家主要由员工所有的公司开展教育案例研究。这些案例将在中心的网站上公布，并将为考虑将雇员所有制作为一项组织战略的企业家提供指导。其次，我与这些组织的协议的一部分将是分享我的发现，并在研究项目上进行合作，以改善他们的人力资源实践，增加员工对治理的参与。

AbstractApproximately 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.