Exploring employee ownership and firm performance: a bibliometric analysis (1974–2024)

Purpose This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of the relationship between employee ownership and firm performance. It seeks to map the intellectual structure of the field, track emerging trends and identify themes that shape the academic discourse. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides a comprehensive bibliometric examination of research on employee ownership and firm performance covering the period 1974–2024. Using a rigorous bibliometric approach, the analysis was conducted with VOSviewer and Biblioshiny on a dataset of 471 English-language peer-reviewed journal articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. We explore publication trends, influential authors and journals, geographical and institutional collaborations and keyword co-occurrence networks. Findings The research identifies six thematic clusters that define the intellectual structure of the field, from governance mechanisms, incentive alignment and corporate social responsibility (CSR) to psychological ownership, cooperative and collective participation models and cross-national institutional contexts of financial participation. The findings reveal emerging research avenues such as the impact of digital transformation on psychological ownership in employee-owned firms and the implications of employee ownership for CSR performance and ethical governance practices. Originality/value By covering more than four decades of scientific production (1974–2024), this study offers the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of scholarly literature on employee ownership and firm performance. It contributes by offering a structured foundation for future research, practical insights for designing effective employee ownership schemes, and policy implications to strengthen organizational resilience and sustainability.