Management and employee buy‐outs from the Austrian public sector

In: Annals of public and cooperative economics, Volume 68, Issue 4, p. 689-711

Abstract

This paper seeks to extend our understanding of the nature and effects of privatization to the case of Austria, a relatively small economy in which management buy‐outs have been a numerically important but neglected part of the privatization programme. The study reviews the development of privatization in Austria and sets management and employee buy‐outs within this context. The paper identifies 35 privatization buy‐outs, analysing their form and industrial distribution. Evidence from detailed interviews with the 22 largest is used to analyse the effects of buy‐out on corporate change, the role of insiders and performance. Comparisons are made with the UK, where management and employee buy‐outs have also been an important part of the privatization programme.