Private equity, HRM and employment

Abstract

We analyze the employment, wages, human resource management, and industrial relations impact of private equity, drawing on empirical evidence from various countries and institutional contexts. We identify different types of private equity-backed buyouts and highlight the impact of creating value through long- and short-term ownership and strategies emphasizing increased efficiency or growth. We show that the effects may vary between buyout types and that it is inappropriate to regard most private equity leveraged buyouts as a zero-sum game with value transferred to shareholders at workers' expense. We conclude that regulating private equity in favor of the organizational model of managerial capitalism is unlikely to necessarily further workers' interests.