The relative importance of psychological versus pecuniary approaches to establishing an ownership culture

Abstract

This study used dominance analysis to examine the relative importance of psychological versus pecuniary approaches to the development of employee ownership attitudes and behaviors. In a sample of 409 non-unionized employees from a commercial real estate firm, we found that perceptions of information and control (i.e., psychological ownership) had a much stronger impact on ownership-related outcomes than did voluntary investment in company stock (i.e., pecuniary ownership), as hypothesized. These findings are consistent with the predictions of the employee ownership literature, suggesting that ownership culture initiatives should be directed at increasing employees’ perceptions of information and control.

Citation

Dunford, B.B., Schleicher, D.J. and Zhu, L. (2009), "The relative importance of psychological versus pecuniary approaches to establishing an ownership culture", Lewin, D. and Kaufman, B.E. (Ed.) Advances in Industrial & Labor Relations (Advances in Industrial & Labor Relations, Vol. 16), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0742-6186(2009)0000016004