About
Publication Information
Subscriptions
Permissions
Advertising
Journal Rankings
Best Article Award
Press Releases
Resources
Access Options
Submission Guidelines
Reviewer Guidelines
Sample Articles
Paper Calls
Contact Us
Submit & Review
Browse
Current Issue
All Issues
Featured
Latest
Topics
Videos
Cases
Subscribe
California Management Review
California Management Review is a premier academic management journal published at UC Berkeley
Search
Article Information
ESOP Plus Benefit Corporation: Ownership Culture with Benefit Accountability
Kurland, Nancy
60
/
4
(
Summer
2018
):
51
-
73
Stakeholder capitalism seeks to benefit multiple stakeholders, rather than primarily shareholders. Two increasingly popular forms are the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and the benefit corporation. But what happens when a company combines these structures? While the benefit corporation’s expanded stakeholder mandate may appear to come at the expense of employee-owner wealth and the potential for shared power, in fact they can complement one another. Being a benefit corporation can strengthen the employee-owned company’s ownership culture through enhanced engagement and creation of a meaningful work environment. And in turn, employee owners can add a layer of accountability to help them meet the benefit corporation’s expanded stakeholder mandate.