Abstract:

Improving total factor productivity （TFP） is an important way to promote state-owned enterprises （SOEs） to become stronger， better， and larger. The existing literature on improving the TFP of SOEs mainly explores aspects such as mixed ownership reform， external supervision， and corporate governance. From the perspective of corporate governance， existing research mainly tests the construction of the board of directors of group companies， executive salary limit policies， and performance evaluation systems of state-owned enterprise executives. However， research based on the perspective of state-owned enterprise employees is relatively scarce. Only a few studies have tested it from the perspectives of total wage control and dividend incentive reform， while research from the perspective of employee shareholding is relatively scarce. Chinese A-share state-owned controlled listed companies from 2010 to 2022 are taken as samples and a multi-point difference-in-difference model is used to evaluate the impact of implementing employee stock ownership plans （ESOPs） on their TFP， in order to expand the research on incentive mechanisms for high-quality development of SOEs.The research results indicate that implementing ESOPs can significantly improve the TFP of SOEs， and is more significant in industries with high competition， low degree of mixed ownership reform， and local SOEs. The mechanism test results show that the ESOPs mainly exerts its benefits synergy effect， innovation incentive effect， and supervision and governance effect， improving the TFP of SOEs by reducing agency costs， promoting innovation， and improving capital allocation efficiency. The extended research based on the contract design of ESOPs shows that a larger employee coverage， higher employee subscription ratios， and longer lock up periods can more effectively promote the improvement of TFP in SOEs. It affirms the positive effects of implementing ESOPs in SOEs from the perspective of TFP， providing theoretical reference for further promoting the “reform to promote mixed ownership” of SOEs. At the same time， it also provides empirical evidence for relevant departments to issue a series of policy documents to promote the pilot of employee stock ownership in SOEs and promote high-quality development of SOEs.Based on the above research conclusions， the policy suggestions of this research are put forward. Firstly， actively promote eligible SOEs to implement ESOPs. It indicates that as an important measure of mixed ownership reform in SOEs， ESOPs has a positive effect on improving the long-term value of SOEs. Relevant departments should further optimize relevant policies， encourage and support more eligible SOEs to timely develop ESOPs. Secondly， further optimize the design of contract elements for implementing ESOPs in SOEs. From the empirical research results of this research， it can be seen that moderately expanding the coverage and subscription ratio of ESOPs， as well as extending the lock up period of shareholding， can help strengthen the effect of ESOPs on the TFP of SOEs and promote their high-quality development.

Key words: employee stock ownership plans, state-owned enterprises, total factor productivity, contract design, multi-point DID