SHARED CAPITALISM RESEARCH CONFERENCE

The Shared Capitalism Project

of the National Bureau of Economic Research

Sponsored by the Russell Sage Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation

October 6-7, 2006

Douglas Kruse, Joseph Blasi, Richard B. Freeman, Christopher Mackin: Organizers

The Russell Sage Foundation

112 East 64th Street, Dining Room

AGENDA

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6
	9:30am	Continental Breakfast
Welcome and Opening
	10–10:30am
Session 1: MEASURING THE EXTENT OF SHARED CAPITALISM
	10:30-11:10am			Douglas Kruse, Joseph Blasi, and Rhokeun Park “Shared Capitalism in the U.S. Economy: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Employee Views of Financial Participation in Enterprises”
				Discussants: Casey Ichniowski, Columbia University and additional comment
				This will present national results on prevalence of shared capitalism programs from the General Social Survey, with comparisons to information from administrative and firm-based datasets. It will also use the national data and the NBER employee survey database to examine what types of employees are covered by shared capitalism programs, and the complementary policies used by firms (employee involvement, training, low levels of supervision, etc.)
	11:10-11:50am			Edward Carberry “An Analysis of Social Stratification in Companies with Shared Capitalism ”
				Discussants: William Rodgers, Rutgers University and additional comment
				In addition to wealth and income, power and status have been of central interest to the literature on social stratification. This paper will examine the distribution of power and status in companies with shared capitalist programs, focusing on outcomes within the entire dataset, interorganizational differences, and the effects of gender and race. To what extent is the distribution of power and status in shared capitalist programs different from companies without these programs? To what extent do patterns of distribution differ between companies? To what extent do women and ethnic minorities participate in these programs and to what extent do these programs alter traditional patterns of stratification among these groups?
	11:50-12:30pm			John Budd “Does Employee Ignorance Undermine Shared Capitalism”
				Discussants: Brigitte Madrian, Harvard University
				Comparisons between employee reports and firm data on shared capitalism programs at targeted firms.
LUNCH: 12:30-1:30				Luncheon - Main Conference Speaker: Daniel Kahneman, Princeton University
Session 2: IMPACTS ON WORKER WELL-BEING and BEHAVIOR
	1:30-2:15		Erika Harden, Douglas Kruse, and Joseph Blasi “Who Has a Better Idea? Innovation, Shared Capitalism, and HR Policies”
			Discussants: Katherine Klein, University of Pennsylvania and additional comment
			Data on innovation attitudes and policies across establishments will be used to analyze employee attitudes toward innovation (e.g., do shared capitalism and HR policies affect employee desire to engage in innovative work?), alignment of company policies and employee perceptions (do managerial efforts change the climate for innovation?), and the consequences when employees have ideas for innovations but perceive the company as unreceptive.
	2:15-3pm;		Richard Freeman, Joseph Blasi, Chris Mackin, Douglas Kruse "Creating a Bigger Pie?  The Effects of Employee Ownership, Profit Sharing, and Stock Options on Workplace Performance"
			Discussants: Casey Ichniowski, Columbia University and additional comment
			This paper will use data from the employee surveys and the General Social Survey 2002 to explore how shared compensation affects turnover, absenteeism, organizational commitment, loyalty, and worker effort.  It will address the critical issue of how firms that use shared compensation deal with free rider problems.
BREAK: 3-3:30pm
Session 3: IMPACTS ON WORKER WELL-BEING and BEHAVIOR (continued)
	3:30-4:15pm		Bob Buchele, Loren Rodgers, and Adria Scharf “Show Me the Money: The Wealth Impact of Shared Capitalism”
			Discussants: Eric Kaarsemaker, University of York and additional comment
			Do shared capitalism programs substitute for wages or other compensation? How do they affect overall employee income and wealth? The NBER shared capitalism data will be used to measure the effects of employee ownership, stock options, and profit sharing on worker assets and to assess their potential impact on the distribution of wealth in the U.S.
	4:15-5pm		Alex Bryson and Richard Freeman “Doing the Right Thing? Does Fair Share Capitalism Improve Workplace Performance?: Analyzing Effects in Britain”
			Discussants: John Addison, University of South Carolina and additional comment
			We consider whether fair share capitalism improves workplace performance and, if so, how and under what conditions?  Fair share capitalism (FSC) is a generic term for the financial mechanism that links employees pay to group or company performance.  Theory suggests links between FSC, employee decision-making autonomy, and managerial monitoring of employee effort.  We explore these relationships with data from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS 2004) and investigate FSCs impact on labour productivity and performance alongside these other key variables.
ADJOURN: 5pm
DINNER: 6pm		Lumi Restaurant. (Italian cuisine). 963 Lexington Ave (Corner of 70^th St). 212-570-2335
		Theme For Panel Discussion By Company/Industry Guests During Dinner: Risk and Diversification
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7
	8:30am		Continental Breakfast
Session 4: ANALYSIS OF COMPANY WELL-BEING
	9-9:45am		Douglas Kruse, Richard Freeman, and Joseph Blasi “Do Workers Gain by Sharing? Employee Outcomes Under Employee Ownership, Profit Sharing, and Broad-based Stock Options”
			Discussants: Michael Handel, Northeastern University and additional comment
			This paper uses the employee survey data to examine how shared compensation plans affect employee pay, satisfaction, job security, and overall employee relations, and how effects may differ depending on other firm practices.
	9:45-10:30am		Arindrajit Dube and Richard Freeman “Complementarity of Shared Compensation and Decision-Making Systems: Evidence from the American Labor Market”
			Discussants: Peter Cappelli , University of Pennsylvania and additional comment
			We use both worker and establishment level surveys to estimate the impact of shared decision making and compensation systems on worker attitudes and firm performance. Using the Worker Representation and Participation Survey (WRPS), we find that employee attitudes, workplace participation, ratings of effort of fellow workers, and job satisfaction are positively related to the presence of shared compensation schemes, such as profit sharing and stock ownership plans, particularly when they are combined with formal employee involvement (EI) programs. Evidence from establishment level data corroborates the complementarity in the incidence and effectiveness of shared compensation and decision making systems. The presence of EI and systems of performance pay and ownership are associated with better financial and product/service quality performance, as well as lower employee turnover at the firm level. Overall, the evidence points to the importance of collective financial incentives, especially when they are coupled with programs that increase worker participation.
BREAK: 10:30-11am
Session 5: How Do They Work?; Designing Shared Capitalist Institutions
	11-12 noon		Richard Freeman, Douglas Kruse and Joseph Blasi “Worker Responses to Shirking”
			Discussants: Eric Maskin, Institute for Advanced Study and Canice Prendergast, University of Chicago and additional comment
			Economists have questioned the value of group incentive systems because of the free rider problem. Peer pressure is generally invoked to explain why group incentives are often found to be linked to better workplace performance, but there has been little direct evidence on this. We investigate the role of peer pressure in group incentive systems by analyzing worker responses to shirking co-workers, using employee survey data from both the company surveys and the 2002 General Social Survey. Attention is paid to the role of shared capitalism programs, employee involvement in decisions, firm size, employee-management relations, and HR policies.
	12-12:45		Joseph Blasi and Douglas Kruse “Risk: Is It Economic Democracy, or Just Another Risk for Workers? Employee Attitudes Toward Risk-Sharing and Financial Participation in Company Rewards”
			Discussants: David Blanchflower, Dartmouth College and additional comment
			This paper looks at the impact of risk on workers under shared capitalism. We explore the linkage between a measure of workers economic insecurity and their attitudes towards ownership, measures of positive company outcomes under shared rewards, and their preferences for more shared capitalism. The paper applies behavioral decision theory and behavioral economics to the problem.
	12:45-1		Wrap-up
LUNCH: 1-2pm
ADJOURN: 2pm

SHARED CAPITALISM RESEARCH CONFERENCE

The Shared Capitalism Project

of the National Bureau of Economic Research

Sponsored by the Russell Sage Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation

October 6-7, 2006

Douglas Kruse, Joseph Blasi, Richard B. Freeman, Christopher Mackin: Organizers

The Russell Sage Foundation

112 East 64th Street, Dining Room

PARTICIPANT LIST

John Addison	University of South Carolina, Moore School of Business
Larry Beeferman	Harvard University, Project Director, Pensions and Capital Stewardship Project
Mary Ann Beyster	University of California, San Diego, Beyster Institute
David Binns	University of California, San Diego, Beyster Institute
David Blanchflower	Dartmouth College, Dept of Economics; NBER, and Monetary Policy Committee, Bank of England
Joseph Blasi	Rutgers University, School of Management and Labor Relations; and NBER
Alex Bryson	Policy Studies Institute, Principal Research Fellow; and Centre for Economic Performance, LSE
Robert Buchele	Smith College, Department of Economics
John Budd	University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management
Peter Cappelli	University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School
Edward Carberry	Cornell University, Department of Sociology; Ownership Associates
Arindrajit Dube	UC, Berkeley, Institute of Industrial Relations
Althea Erickson	Rockfeller Foundation, Research Associate
David Finegold	Rutgers University, Dean, School of Management and Labor Relations
Richard B. Freeman	Harvard University, Department of Economics; NBER and Centre for Economic Performance, LSE
Michael Handel	Northeastern University, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Erika Harden	Rutgers University, Department of Industrial Relations and Human Resources
Casey Ichniowski	Columbia University, School of Business; and NBER
Eric Kaarsemaker	University of York, UK, Department of Management Studies
Daniel Kahneman	Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School
Michael Keeling	The ESOP Association, President
Katherine Klein	University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Management
Douglas L. Kruse	Rutgers University, School of Management and Labor Relations; and NBER
Chris Mackin	Ownership Associates, President
Brigitte Madrian	John F Kennedy School of Government, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government
Katherine McFate	Ford Foundation, Program Officer
Eric Maskin	Institute for Advanced Study, School of Social Science
Janice Nittoli	Rockefeller Foundation, Program Officer
Canice Prendergast	University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business
Loren Rodgers	National Center for Employee Ownership, Project Director
William Rodgers	Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Corey Rosen	The National Center for Employee Ownership, Executive Director
Gary Scarrabelotti	The Employee Ownership Group, Australia, Group Secretary
Adria Scharf	Richmond Peace Education Center, Director
Linnet Taylor	Rockfeller Foundation, Research Associate
Eric Wanner	Russell Sage Foundation, President
Darren Walker	Rockefeller Foundation, Vice President
Representatives from companies involved in the research will also be in attendance. Their names are not included here.