TY - JOUR
T1 - Privatization, employee share ownership and governance
T2 - The case of eircom
AU - Palcic, Dónal
AU - Reeves, Eoin
PY - 2011/12
Y1 - 2011/12
N2 - Sizeable employee share ownership plans (ESOPs) have been a unique feature of Ireland's privatization programme. Since the sale in 1999 of the national telecommunications operator, Eircom, the norm has been to allocate 14.9 per cent of equity to employees. We examine the role of the Eircom ESOP in the post-privatization governance of the company. We find that the ESOP sought to maximize returns to employees as shareholders rather than behave in the interests of a wider set of stakeholders. This is explained in terms of the internal governance of the ESOP, namely its structure and rules, as well as the composition and motivations of the board of the ESOP Trustee.
AB - Sizeable employee share ownership plans (ESOPs) have been a unique feature of Ireland's privatization programme. Since the sale in 1999 of the national telecommunications operator, Eircom, the norm has been to allocate 14.9 per cent of equity to employees. We examine the role of the Eircom ESOP in the post-privatization governance of the company. We find that the ESOP sought to maximize returns to employees as shareholders rather than behave in the interests of a wider set of stakeholders. This is explained in terms of the internal governance of the ESOP, namely its structure and rules, as well as the composition and motivations of the board of the ESOP Trustee.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=81855168299&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1467-8292.2011.00448.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1467-8292.2011.00448.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:81855168299
SN - 1370-4788
VL - 82
SP - 437
EP - 454
JO - Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics
JF - Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics
IS - 4
ER -