Employee equity, incentive compensation, and growth in entrepreneurial firms

We examined the relationship between employee equity compensation, incentive compensation, and firm growth using a sample of 480 privately held firms from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s database of Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY) winners. Using frameworks from agency and mot...

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Main Authors: J.B. Arbaugh, Larry W. Cox, S. Michael Camp
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Emerald Publishing 2004-03-01
Series:New England Journal of Entrepreneurship
Online Access:https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/NEJE-07-01-2004-B003/full/pdf?title=employee-equity-incentive-compensation-and-growth-in-entrepreneurial-firms
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author J.B. Arbaugh
Larry W. Cox
S. Michael Camp
author_facet J.B. Arbaugh
Larry W. Cox
S. Michael Camp
author_sort J.B. Arbaugh
collection DOAJ
description We examined the relationship between employee equity compensation, incentive compensation, and firm growth using a sample of 480 privately held firms from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s database of Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY) winners. Using frameworks from agency and motivation theories, we argued that larger percentages of both equity- and incentivebased compensation allocated to top managers and employees would be associated with firm growth. After controlling for firm and industry effects, the results of the study showed that while the firms in the sample preferred providing incentive compensation, providing equity compensation for employees was a positively significant predictor of firm growth over a three-year period. These findings suggest that prescriptions for growth in larger firms developed from agency theory also may be applicable to entrepreneurial firms, and founder/CEOs seeking to grow their firms should consider using equity compensation to motivate their current employees and to attract new ones.
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spelling doaj.art-b8c0a97afa4b43709dfa9a0fc583f3802022-12-21T19:02:31ZengEmerald PublishingNew England Journal of Entrepreneurship2574-89042004-03-0171152510.1108/NEJE-07-01-2004-B003Employee equity, incentive compensation, and growth in entrepreneurial firmsJ.B. Arbaugh0Larry W. Cox1S. Michael Camp2University of Wisconsin OshkoshUniversity of Wisconsin - MadisonOhio State UniversityWe examined the relationship between employee equity compensation, incentive compensation, and firm growth using a sample of 480 privately held firms from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s database of Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY) winners. Using frameworks from agency and motivation theories, we argued that larger percentages of both equity- and incentivebased compensation allocated to top managers and employees would be associated with firm growth. After controlling for firm and industry effects, the results of the study showed that while the firms in the sample preferred providing incentive compensation, providing equity compensation for employees was a positively significant predictor of firm growth over a three-year period. These findings suggest that prescriptions for growth in larger firms developed from agency theory also may be applicable to entrepreneurial firms, and founder/CEOs seeking to grow their firms should consider using equity compensation to motivate their current employees and to attract new ones.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/NEJE-07-01-2004-B003/full/pdf?title=employee-equity-incentive-compensation-and-growth-in-entrepreneurial-firms
spellingShingle J.B. Arbaugh
Larry W. Cox
S. Michael Camp
Employee equity, incentive compensation, and growth in entrepreneurial firms
New England Journal of Entrepreneurship
title Employee equity, incentive compensation, and growth in entrepreneurial firms
title_full Employee equity, incentive compensation, and growth in entrepreneurial firms
title_fullStr Employee equity, incentive compensation, and growth in entrepreneurial firms
title_full_unstemmed Employee equity, incentive compensation, and growth in entrepreneurial firms
title_short Employee equity, incentive compensation, and growth in entrepreneurial firms
title_sort employee equity incentive compensation and growth in entrepreneurial firms
url https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/NEJE-07-01-2004-B003/full/pdf?title=employee-equity-incentive-compensation-and-growth-in-entrepreneurial-firms
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