INCREASED PERFORMANCE – Studies have indicated that ESOP companies, on average, outperform non-ESOP companies and ESOP companies do better after the ESOP has been adopted.  “In the largest and most significant study to date of the performance of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in closely held companies, Douglas Kruse and Joseph Blasi of Rutgers have found that ESOPs appear to increase sales, employment, and sales per employee by about 2.3% to 2.4% per year over what would have been expected absent an ESOP.”  Another study finds that the increased productivity is 4% per year.  This post also discussed the fact that ESOP Companies are More Productive.

INCREASED COMPANY SURVIVAL RATE AND JOB STABILITY – Employee-owned firms are more likely to survive than their non-ESOP counterparts.  The same Douglas Kruse and Joesph Blasi study referenced above found that 69.6% of ESOP companies survived from 1988 through 1999, compared to 54.8% of non-ESOP companies of similar size and industry.