A Study of the Incentive Effects of Employee Stock Ownership Plans on Corporate Innovation and Development from the Cost-Benefit Perspective
Description
This study deeply analyzes the innovation incentive effect of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) from the perspective of cost-benefit and helps enterprises optimize incentive mechanisms. Chinese A-share listed companies from 2018 to 2022 are selected as the initial data samples. After excluding the financial and petroleum industries, state-owned enterprises, and companies lacking relevant data resources, a total of 921 samples are retained. Firstly, this study utilizes random effects models to analyze sample data and explores the impact of ESOP on the level of enterprise labor cost efficiency. Subsequently, through time series analysis comparing indicators before and after implementation, the experimental analysis examines the long-term and short-term effects of ESOP on incentivizing enterprise innovation development. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is employed to analyze the influence of ESOP on employee engagement in innovation activities and innovation investment to verify the existence of mediating effects. Finally, this study employs hierarchical regression models to study the moderating effect of ESOP on enterprise innovation efficiency, observing differences in impact under different levels of moderating variables. The results show: (1) the implementation of ESOP is positively correlated with enterprise labor costs across different industries, and ESOP implementation can enhance the efficiency of enterprise labor costs in various industries. (2) Time series analysis indicates a general upward trend in enterprise indicators after implementing ESOP, with p-values for the 22Q2 quarter being less than 0.05. The data indicates that the impact of ESOP is continuous and stable. (3) The total effect of ESOP on innovation investment is not significant (p = 0.025 > 0.05), and the mediating effect is also not significant (p = 0.120 > 0.05), indicating that the degree of participation in innovation activities may not play a significant mediating role. (4) The implementation of ESOP by companies can enhance employees' ability to bear innovation risks, thereby promoting enterprise innovation efficiency. This study aims to provide reference for management of listed companies to formulate more targeted and effective incentive policies, and to promote low-cost, high-profit innovation and development of enterprises.