The Employee Ownership Advantage
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A newsletter from the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program. Subscribe for highlights from the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum.
Research continues to show that employee ownership can strengthen business performance – particularly when ownership is paired with a participatory workplace culture.
Employee-owned companies often report stronger productivity, lower turnover, and greater resilience during economic downturns, while also creating conditions for long-term growth.
At the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, leaders from employee-owned companies discussed how ownership shapes workplace culture, business strategy, and company success in practice.
This issue of “From the Forum” revisits that conversation, which features a grounded look at why employee ownership continues to draw attention from business leaders, policymakers, and advocates alike.
In anticipation of this year’s Forum — co-hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University — we’re inviting you to revisit this conversation.
The Employee Ownership Agenda: The Employee Ownership Advantage
Leaders from employee-owned companies discuss how ownership, combined with employee participation in solving company challenges, can strengthen business performance and support innovation. Drawing from research and lived experience, this conversation explores why some of the strongest performing companies in the US are employee-owned. Click here for the full discussion.
Check out the highlights
Related Resources
Does employee ownership improve performance by Douglas Kruse
Employee Ownership Gains Big Momentum by Mary Josephs
The Big Benefits of Employee Ownership by Thomas Dudley and Ethan Rouen
About the Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum brings together leading policymakers, practitioners, experts, and the media for a robust discussion on how we can grow employee ownership for the shared benefit of American workers and businesses. It is hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing.
About the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing
The purpose of the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing is to study the various models that have emerged and will emerge of employee ownership shares and profit shares in the corporation and society of the United States and around the world.
About the Economic Opportunities Program
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.
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