Restriction lift date: 2028-03-14
Employee ownership as local economic resilience: Evidence from Scotland
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Date
2026-09-14
Authors
Browne, Oliver
Nuttall, Graeme
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Ltd.
Published Version
Abstract
This paper examines employee ownership (EO) as a form of collective entrepreneurial succession within regional entrepreneurial ecosystems. Drawing on qualitative case evidence from Scotland, the study explores how EO transitions are motivated, enacted, and experienced as alternatives to trade sale, private equity acquisition, or firm closure in regions. The findings show that EO is frequently chosen by founders of locally embedded small and medium-sized enterprises to preserve organizational culture, retain skilled employment, and maintain local decision-making. Rather than marking an endpoint of entrepreneurship, EO redistributes entrepreneurial agency among employees, requiring them to assume governance and strategic responsibilities previously held by founders and owner-managers. The analysis further demonstrates that EO can support local value retention and resilience, while remaining contingent on governance capability, and institutional support. Conceptually, the paper reframes EO as an entrepreneurial transition mechanism that sustains locally embedded economic activity within regional development systems.
Description
Keywords
Employee ownership , Employee ownership trusts , Entrepreneurial ecosystems , Entrepreneurship , Local embeddedness , [CUBS]
Citation
Browne, O & Nuttall, G 2026, 'Employee ownership as local economic resilience: Evidence from Scotland', Local Development and Society, pp. 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/26883597.2026.2726359