Employee ownership in China: new evidence

Purpose With specific big-data mining worked on 61,522 firm announcements, we discovered a diverse Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) model in China, called “Core-Staff-Based ESOPs.” Distinct from standard broad-based or executive-based ESOPs, these specific targeted-broad-based ESOPs require the qualification for participants, involving the participation of senior executives, directors at the middle level and any other employees that make particular contributions to firms. We take on the challenge to analyze ESOP mechanism, firm characteristics and performance in the view of organizational ecology and resource-based choice-making, and explore which factors have influenced the ESOP development in China. Design/methodology/approach We utilize a combination of approaches including qualitative and quantitative methods, and construct the main database of 117,767 firm-quarter data. Findings Firstly, based upon our institutional research, we find no coercive mechanisms that force all the Chinese listed firms to implement ESOPs since 2005. Secondly, our binary logistic regressions identify ESOP firms’ specific properties significantly distinct from non-ESOP firms, and draw profiles for these ESOP firms. Thirdly, our panel regression test results sustain the rational of ESOP mechanism, demonstrating that ESOPs enable Chinese firms to improve performance both in profits and their industry positions. Finally, with further quantitative tests, we find out this ESOP design’s limitations and the heterogenous effects due to China’s environments. Originality/value The discovery of Core-staff-based ESOPs contributes a diversity to the standard framework of ESOPs, enhances our understanding of China’s ESOP development, and provides new evidence for ESOP performance.