Working in employee-owned companies: The role of economic democracy skills

Abstract

Employee-owned companies (EOCs) are a growing sector of the UK economy and yet research remains divided on their impact and effectiveness. While research has focused on the links between ownership form and organisational performance, this article investigates whether distinctive ‘economic democracy skills’ can be identified. The findings reveal that economic democracy skills in EOCs comprise formal business-owner skills – termed skills in economic democracy – and softer socioemotional skills necessary for effective democratic functioning, which are labelled economic democracy skills. These skills are developed through democracy work by EOCs. The implications of these findings for the sustainable performance of democratically owned firms are discussed.