Research sponsored by ifs Proshare to assess the impact share plans have on employee behaviour and their attitudes towards the company they work for is being conducted by Loughborough University Business School, one of the UK's top research-led business schools.
Although much research has looked at how share plans affect employee performance (particularly in the US), the Loughborough University research will focus on share plans in the UK and how they affect employees' attitudes and behaviours towards their employers, including their feelings of ownership towards the company.
The research is being conducted by PhD researcher David McConville from Loughborough University, an experienced researcher previously involved in research with the East Midlands Development Agency, Scottish Enterprise and the ESRC.
Major banks, telecommunications companies and SMEs have already benefited from the research and other UK companies are now invited to participate and benefit from it directly, as David explains:
The research is absolutely free and we have had a great response from a wide range of companies so far. Having started the research in 2008 we are now over two thirds the way through and we're looking for more companies to take part with a short e-survey for their employees.
Each company that participates receives a concise report with findings that will enable them to gain valuable insights into their company in terms of how their share plan really affects their employees' attitudes and behaviours towards the company. The report will also help companies to identify opportunities to improve their employee share plan and maximise their return on investment as a result.
A 10 minute e-survey is sent to employees of the company's choice. The results are collated and analysed to create a concise report for the company. Each company's data is anonymised so it can be included in a final UK Report for ifs Proshare, which should be finished for the spring of 2011.
UK companies who offer any of the following types of share plans will benefit from participating in this research:
Contact David McConville at D.C.Mcconville@lboro.ac.uk by July 2010.
