IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/ijsepp/v34y2007i7p485-501.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Measuring performance: differences between capitalist and labour‐owned enterprises

Author

Listed:
  • Zuray Melgarejo
  • Francisco J. Arcelus
  • Katrin Simon

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to test whether performance differences between labour‐managed (LOFs) and mercantile (PCFs) firms are due to the measures used in the comparison, rather than to their distinct capital‐ownership configurations. Design/methodology/approach - Tests for the equality of two means and two variances of a variety of performance measures were used to ascertain whether differences between LOFs and PCFs firms are due to the measures used in the comparison, rather than to their distinct capital‐ownership configurations Findings - The indicators analyzed do not provide either type of organizational structure a definite superiority in either short‐economic performance or in short‐term profitability and the profitability indicators assign as good a chance of survival to LOFs as to PCFs of similar size, even if the analysis of their respective debt structures indicates some clear limitations on their growth prospects. Practical implications - The paper stresses the importance of using proper measures of the performance of LOFs, to avoid a common practice of being short‐changed in their evaluation of their economic performance, profitability, return of labour and financial structure. Originality/value - The study will be useful to the worker‐owners of the LOFs and to those evaluating their performance, such as lenders, regulators, other public officials and the like.

Suggested Citation

  • Zuray Melgarejo & Francisco J. Arcelus & Katrin Simon, 2007. "Measuring performance: differences between capitalist and labour‐owned enterprises," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(7), pages 485-501, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:eme:ijsepp:v:34:y:2007:i:7:p:485-501
    DOI: 10.1108/03068290710760254
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/03068290710760254/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/03068290710760254/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/03068290710760254?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Craig, Ben & Pencavel, John, 1992. "The Behavior of Worker Cooperatives: The Plywood Companies of the Pacific Northwest," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(5), pages 1083-1105, December.
    2. Bonin, John P & Jones, Derek C & Putterman, Louis, 1993. "Theoretical and Empirical Studies of Producer Cooperatives: Will Ever the Twain Meet?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 31(3), pages 1290-1320, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maria Bastida & Luisa Helena Pinto & Ana Olveira Blanco & Maite Cancelo, 2020. "Female Entrepreneurship: Can Cooperatives Contribute to Overcoming the Gender Gap? A Spanish First Step to Equality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Josefina Fernández-Guadaño, 2014. "Employee-owned and capitalist firms: is performance linked to ownership?," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 8(4), pages 541-558, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tortia, Ermanno, 2014. "L'impresa come bene comune," AICCON Working Papers 131-2013, Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit.
    2. Michael Kremer, 1997. "Why are Worker Cooperatives So Rare?," NBER Working Papers 6118, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Morley Gunderson & Jeffrey Sack & James McCartney & David Wakely & Jonathan Eaton, 1995. "Employee Buyouts in Canada," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 417-442, September.
    4. Sacchetti, Silvia & Tortia, Ermanno, 2012. "The internal and external governance of cooperatives: the effective membership and consistency of value," AICCON Working Papers 111-2012, Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit.
    5. Federica VIGANO & Andrea SALUSTRI, 2015. "Matching profit and Non-profit Needs: How NPOs and Cooperative Contribute to Growth in Time of Crisis. A Quantitative Approach," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 86(1), pages 157-178, March.
    6. Flavio Delbono & Diego Lanzi & Carlo Reggiani, 2022. "Beyond Illyria: Workers' Firm in Mixed Oligopoly," Working Papers wp1170, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    7. Tortia, Ermanno C., 2021. "Employment protection regimes and dismissal of members in worker cooperatives," MPRA Paper 109214, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Chong-En Bai & Chenggang Xu, 2001. "Ownership, Incentives and Monitoring," STICERD - Theoretical Economics Paper Series 413, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    9. J. Rosser & Marina Rosser, 2008. "A critique of the new comparative economics," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 21(1), pages 81-97, March.
    10. Gabriel Burdín, 2016. "Equality Under Threat by the Talented: Evidence from Worker‐Managed Firms," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(594), pages 1372-1403, August.
    11. Guillermo Alves & Gabriel Burdin & Paula Carrasco & Andrés Dean & Andrés Rius, 2012. "Empleo, remuneraciones e inversión en cooperativas de trabajadores y empresas convencionales: nueva evidencia para Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 12-14, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    12. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1998. "Cooperatives vs. outside ownership," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19360, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Gabriel Burdín, 2014. "Are Worker-Managed Firms More Likely to Fail Than Conventional Enterprises? Evidence from Uruguay," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 67(1), pages 202-238, January.
    14. Ben Craig & John Pencavel, 1995. "Participation and Productiviy: A Comparison of Worker Cooperatives and Conventional Firms in the Plywood Industry," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 26(1995 Micr), pages 121-174.
    15. Marina Albanese & Cecilia Navarra & Ermanno Tortia, 2019. "Equilibrium unemployment as a worker insurance device: wage setting in worker owned enterprises," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 36(3), pages 653-671, October.
    16. Fabio Sabatini & Francesca Modena & Ermanno Tortia, 2014. "Do cooperative enterprises create social trust?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 621-641, March.
    17. Gregory Dow, 2001. "Allocating Control over Firms: Stock Markets versus Membership Markets," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 18(2), pages 201-218, March.
    18. Silvia Sacchetti & Ermanno C. Tortia, 2013. "The Internal and External Governance of Cooperatives: Membership and Consistency of Values," Euricse Working Papers 1362, Euricse (European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises).
    19. Louis Putterman, 2006. "Labor-Managed Firms," Working Papers 2006-18, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    20. Albanese, Marina & Navarra, Cecilia & Tortia, Ermanno C., 2015. "Employer moral hazard and wage rigidity. The case of worker owned and investor owned firms," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 227-237.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:ijsepp:v:34:y:2007:i:7:p:485-501. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.